Digital Asset Market Clarity Act

(a) Definitions. In this section:

(1) Appropriate Federal banking agency; State bank; State bank supervisor; State member bank. The terms appropriate Federal banking agency, State bank, State bank supervisor, and State member bank have the meanings given those terms in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813).

(2) Customer-driven transaction. The term customer-driven transaction—

(A) means a transaction that is entered into for a valid and independent business purpose of a customer; and

(B) does not include a transaction, the principal purpose of which is to deliver to a financial holding company, insured State bank, national bank, or Federal credit union assets that the financial holding company, insured State bank, national bank, or Federal credit union, respectively, could not invest in directly.

(3) Federal branch; State branch. The terms Federal branch and State branch have the meanings given those terms in section 1(b) of the International Banking Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3101).

(4) Federal credit union; insured credit union. The terms Federal credit union and insured credit union have the meanings given those terms in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752).

(5) Financial holding company. The term financial holding company has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841).

(6) Financial subsidiary. The term financial subsidiary has the meaning given the term in section 5136A(g)(3) of the Revised Statutes (12 U.S.C. 24a).

(7) Insured State bank. The term insured State bank means a State bank, the deposits of which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

(8) National bank. The term national bank means a national banking association.

(b) Authorized activities for financial holding companies and financial subsidiaries

(1) In general. A financial holding company or financial subsidiary may use a digital asset or distributed ledger system to perform, provide, or deliver any activity, function, product, or service that the financial holding company is otherwise authorized by law to perform, provide, or deliver.

(2) Financial in nature. The activities described in subsection (g) are financial in nature, or incidental to a financial activity, for purposes of section 4(k) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1843(k)) and section 5136A(b) of the Revised Statutes (12 U.S.C. 24a(b)).

(3) Rule of construction. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to exempt the performance, provision, or delivery by a financial holding company or financial subsidiary of an activity, function, product, or service from a requirement that would apply if the activity were not performed, provided, or delivered using a digital asset or distributed ledger system.

(c) Authorized activities for national banks

(1) In general

(A) Authorized activities. A national bank may use a digital asset or distributed ledger system to perform, provide, or deliver any activity, function, product, or service that the national bank is otherwise authorized by law to perform, provide, or deliver.

(B) Branches of foreign banks

(i) Federal branches. Consistent with section 4(b) of the International Banking Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3102(b)), the activities authorized for a national bank under subparagraph (A) and paragraph (2) shall be permissible for a Federal branch, subject to any limitations that would apply to those activities pursuant to the International Banking Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) if the activity were not performed, provided, or delivered using a digital asset or distributed ledger system.

(ii) Rule of construction for State branches. For the purposes of activities engaged in by a State branch as principal under section 7(h) of the International Banking Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3105(h)), the activities authorized under clause (i) are permissible activities of a Federal branch.

(2) Business of banking and other authorized activities. The activities described in subsection (g) are authorized as part of the business of banking under the paragraph designated as the Seventh of section 5136 of the Revised Statutes (12 U.S.C. 24) or under other applicable law.

(3) Rules of construction. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to—

(A) exempt the performance, provision, or delivery by a national bank of an activity, function, product, or service from a prohibition, restriction, registration, limitation, or other requirement that would apply if the activity were not performed, provided, or delivered using a digital asset or distributed ledger system by a national bank; or

(B) expand or contract the meaning of operations are or have been required by the Comptroller of the Currency to be limited to those of a trust company and activities related thereto, as that term is used in section 5169(a) of the Revised Statutes (12 U.S.C. 27(a)).

(d) State banks. The activities authorized under subsection (c) are permissible activities—

(1) of a national bank for purposes of activities of an insured State bank and any subsidiary of an insured State bank to engage in as principal under subsections (a) and (d) of section 24 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1831a); and

(2) of a State member bank, and any subsidiary of a State member bank, to engage in as principal.

(e) Authorized activities for Federal credit unions

(1) In general. A Federal credit union may use a digital asset or distributed ledger system to perform, provide, or deliver any activity, function, product, or service that the Federal credit union is otherwise authorized by law to perform, provide, or deliver.

(2) Business of credit unions. The activities described in subsection (g) are authorized as part of, or incidental to, the authority necessary or requisite to carry on effectively the business for which Federal credit unions are incorporated under paragraph (17) of section 107 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1757(17)).

(3) Rule of construction. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to exempt the performance, provision, or delivery by a Federal credit union of an activity, function, product, or service from a requirement that would apply if the activity were not performed, provided, or delivered using a digital asset or distributed ledger system.

(f) Insured credit unions. The activities authorized for a Federal credit union under subsection (e)(1) shall be permissible for an insured credit union, subject to authorization by applicable State law.

(g) Activities described. The activities described in this subsection are—

(1) providing custodial, fiduciary, or safekeeping services for digital assets;

(2) providing services related to custodial services for digital assets, including staking, facilitating digital asset lending, distributed ledger governance services, and advancing funds for the purchase of digital assets or in respect of distributions on digital assets;

(3) making loans collateralized by digital assets;

(4) engaging in payment activities involving digital assets, including facilitating customer or principal payments in connection with otherwise permissible activities;

(5) operating a node on a distributed ledger;

(6) providing self-custodial wallet software;

(7) engaging in derivatives transactions, including related hedging activities, in a manner consistent with section 7.1030 of title 12, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect as of the date of enactment of this Act;

(8) providing brokerage services with respect to any digital asset, including clearing and execution services, whether alone or in combination with other permissible activities;

(9) facilitating transactions in the secondary market for all types of digital assets on the order of customers as a riskless principal to the extent of engaging in a transaction in which a company, after receiving an order to buy or sell a digital asset from a customer, purchases or sells the digital asset for its own account to offset a contemporaneous sale to or purchase from the customer;

(10) holding as principal digital assets for which the banking entity anticipates a reasonably foreseeable need to the extent incidental to an otherwise permissible activity, which shall include holding digital assets as principal in order to pay fees arising from interactions with a distributed ledger system or for the purposes of risk management, treasury services, liquidity management or trade or margin settlement or similar purposes, subject to the otherwise applicable limitations on the activities of a banking entity pursuant to section 13 of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1851) and only to the extent that the terms and prohibitions of that section apply to a transaction; and

(11) underwriting, dealing in, or making a market in digital assets in customer-driven transactions, including related hedging activities in connection with those customer-driven transactions, subject to the otherwise applicable limitations on the activities of a banking entity pursuant to section 13 of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1851) and only to the extent that the terms and prohibitions of that section apply to a transaction.

(h) Other requirements. There shall be no other prior notice or approval requirements to engage in the activities described in subsections (b) through (g) of this section other than those required under title LXII of the Revised Statutes, the Act entitled An Act to place authority over the trust powers of national banks in the Comptroller of the Currency, approved September 28, 1962 (12 U.S.C. 92a et seq.), the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 221 et seq.), or the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841 et seq.) and the regulations promulgated under those Acts.

(i) Rule of construction. Nothing in this section may be construed to—

(1) exclude other possible permissible activities that are not activities described in subsection (g);

(2) imply that inclusion of an activity described in subsection (g) means that the activity is otherwise impermissible;

(3) limit the authority of an appropriate Federal banking agency to determine that activities other than those activities described in subsection (g) are permissible for a Federal credit union or authorized as part of the business of banking, or financial in nature, or incidental or complementary thereto, or other applicable law, as applicable, through interpretations, guidance, or rulemaking; or

(4) limit the authority of an appropriate Federal banking agency, or a State bank supervisor, to supervise and take enforcement action with respect to an insured depository institution (or, to the extent applicable, a financial holding company) engaging in a digital asset activity authorized by this section that the appropriate Federal banking agency or State bank supervisor, as applicable, determines, pursuant to applicable law, to be an unsafe or unsound practice or a violation of a law, rule, or regulation, or any condition imposed in writing.

(j) Application. The authorities described in this section shall not apply to nonfungible assets.