160 National Security Veterans Back CLARITY Act as Senate Crypto Battle Reaches Critical Stage

“Today, we’re sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Thune and Senate Democratic Leader Schumer signed by 160 former national security, intelligence, and law enforcement professionals in support of the CLARITY Act.”

The letter argues that digital asset activity should operate under U.S. rules, oversight, and law enforcement reach. It says offshore migration could push markets into opaque venues beyond U.S. investigators.

Officials say the CLARITY Act would expand the Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions obligations for digital commodity brokers, dealers, and exchanges. It also would create Treasury-led information sharing with the Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and private companies.

The letter points to several enforcement changes beyond traditional exchanges. It says the bill would add anti-fraud safeguards, monitoring rules, reporting duties, transaction limits, and law enforcement contacts for digital asset kiosks. It also would extend compliance duties to certain centralized finance trading protocols and clarify sanctions expectations for distributed ledger messaging systems.

For prosecutors and investigators, the most consequential provisions may involve suspicious transactions and asset recovery. The letter says the bill would allow temporary holds on suspicious digital asset transfers, require law enforcement notification, and reinforce court-order compliance. It also would define digital assets as monetary instruments and expand administrative seizure authorities in significant cases.

“The responsible digital asset industry stands with law enforcement. We support strong compliance, strong consumer protections, and strong tools to combat illicit finance. That’s why the Senate should advance the CLARITY Act.”