US Senate Panel Moves Clarity Act Forward; Charles Schwab Rolls Out Bitcoin Spot Trading

A roundup of the week's key developments in blockchain and crypto. US Senate Banking Committee advances Digital Asset Market Clarity Act The US Senate Banking Committee approved the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in a 15–9 vote, pushing the most significant US crypto market structure bill a step closer to becoming law. More than 130 amendments were filed, including 44 from Senator Elizabeth Warren. Democrats Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks crossed party lines to help deliver a majority for the initiative backed by Committee Chair Tim Scott. The bill splits oversight between regulators: the CFTC would supervise digital commodities such as Bitcoin, while the SEC would keep jurisdiction over securities. Democratic resistance remains tied to ethics concerns around the Trump family's crypto ventures. Their estimated wealth linked to memecoins and World Liberty Financial is put at USD 11.6 billion. Next, the bill heads to the full Senate, where it needs 60 votes—meaning nine Democratic senators would have to support it. Polymarket currently assigns a 60% chance of passage. Charles Schwab launches "Schwab Crypto" with spot BTC and ETH As Washington refines the rules, large brokers are moving ahead. Charles Schwab, with about USD 12 trillion in client assets and 39 million customers, launched "Schwab Crypto" this week. The platform offers spot purchases of Bitcoin and Ethereum only, charging 75 basis points per transaction. The rollout is phased, beginning with employees, then waitlisted clients, and eventually expanding to all eligible accounts across 48 states. Custody is provided by Charles Schwab Premier Bank, with Paxos Trust acting as subcustodian. The launch follows the SEC's repeal of accounting rule SAB 121 in January 2025 and the OCC's clarification of national banks' authority around crypto-related activities. Schwab clients already hold about 20% of all US crypto ETP assets. Michael Saylor signals willingness to sell Bitcoin, raising questions for Strategy's model As traditional brokers enter, the largest Bitcoin treasury player is showing signs of flexibility. On Strategy's Q1 2026 earnings call, Michael Saylor stepped away from his four-year "never sell" position and indicated the company may sell Bitcoin to fund dividend payments. Strategy holds 818'334 BTC valued at USD 66.1 billion, about 3.9% of total Bitcoin supply. After the results, the stock fell 4.33% to USD 178.80. Its mNAV ratio is 1.01x—close to the level where the company's capital-raising "flywheel" is considered at risk. The STRC preferred share alone, paying an 11.5% variable monthly dividend, implies annual distributions of around USD 982 million. If Bitcoin avoids a multi-year bear market, Strategy is still expected to retain access to capital markets. Circle raises USD 222 million for Arc, a Layer-1 stablecoin blockchain In stablecoins, momentum is shifting as well. USDC issuer Circle closed a token presale for its Layer-1 blockchain Arc, raising USD 222 million. The sale placed 740 million ARC tokens at USD 0.30, valuing the network at a USD 3 billion fully diluted valuation. Andreessen Horowitz led the round with USD 75 million. Other participants included BlackRock, Apollo Funds, Intercontinental Exchange, Standard Chartered Ventures and ARK Invest. Arc is EVM-compatible, targets finality of roughly 780 ms with 100 validators, and uses USDC—not a volatile native token—as the gas asset. Built-in components include USDC, EURC, the tokenized money market fund USYC, and the cross-chain protocol CCTP. More than 100 institutions have been testing Arc since October 2025, including Goldman Sachs, BNY, HSBC, Mastercard, Deutsche Bank and Visa. Mainnet is planned for 2026. Market structure: Bitcoin consolidates, altcoins fragment The past year has produced a two-tier market. Year to date, Bitcoin is down 9%, Ethereum 24%, Solana 27%, XRP 22% and Cardano 20%. Some names have moved the other way, with TRON up 25%, Hyperliquid 54% and Canton Network 7%. Institutional flows remain concentrated on Bitcoin through spot ETFs and corporate treasuries. For three years, combined demand from ETFs and balance sheet buyers such as Strategy has exceeded newly mined BTC, reinforcing scarcity. Altcoins have not seen broad-based capital allocation and continue to depend on project-specific catalysts. Even Ethereum, the leading smart contract platform, has lagged Bitcoin. The takeaway: market capitalization alone is no longer enough to draw institutional money. Regulatory clarity and access through established vehicles increasingly determine where capital goes. Want the weekly review in your inbox every Saturday? Subscribe to the CVJ.CH Newsletter.