Updated 4 hrs ago Published 4 hrs ago
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In a fresh correspondence issued on Monday, a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general petitioned the U.S. Senate to safeguard state authority over cryptocurrency enforcement within the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, while also advising lawmakers to reject the legislation unless amendments are made.
The letter, endorsed by 18 attorneys general representing various states as well as the District of Columbia, voiced apprehensions that enactment of the Clarity Act would impede states from initiating legal actions against digital fraudsters utilizing their current securities and commodities statutes.
“We write to urge the Senate to expressly preserve the police powers of the states and ensure that the states remain armed with the tools necessary to protect the American people from predatory scammers,” the correspondence stated. “As the epidemic of online scams continues to grow, we remain firmly opposed to any federal statutory changes that would displace states’ authority to oversee the securities and commodities markets to protect everyday Americans.”
The document referenced FBI data showing that $11.4 billion was pilfered from investors through digital asset schemes during the previous year.
Although recent drafts of the Clarity Act contain language that “reserves certain powers for states to prosecute fraud,” this phrasing remains “ambiguous” and unclear, potentially enabling defendants to prevent states from executing enforcement actions, according to the letter.
In its present form, the legislation would permit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to override state jurisdiction via the “qualified transaction” classification, the signatories noted.
The document bears signatures from chief law enforcement officers in New York, Arizona, Connecticut, California, Kansas, Ohio, and twelve other states. Highlighting the broad appeal of this issue, the participants include both Democratic and Republican officials, with figures like Kris Kobach and Andy Wilson joining Letitia James and Rob Bonta.
Additional coalitions have likewise voiced dissent against the most recent proposal. The Indian Gaming Association, which has previously voiced concerns regarding the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s endorsement of prediction markets, expressed alarm over what it characterized as “the largest expansion of CFTC authority since the 2010 Dodd-Frank bill” in an official release.
“Until text is added to expressly provide that state, tribal gaming laws and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act are not preempted by federal commodities law, and that [designated contract markets] are not permitted to list contracts on sports betting or casino games, Indian County will continue to urge members to vote against the Clarity Act and view its enactment as the greatest threat to tribal sovereignty in a generation,” the statement by IGA Chair David Bean declared.
Senator Cynthia Lummis, serving as one of the primary authors of the bill, noted in a post on X that she had conversed with Bean back in June and that he had refrained from expressing opposition to the terminology at that time.
Another major point of contention within the legislation centers on its treatment of stablecoin yields and rewards. Christopher Williston, who acts as president and CEO for the Independent Bankers Association of Texas, characterized updated yield provisions released on Monday as “a joke” via a post on X, describing them as “a meaningless nothing.”
Read more: Here is the revised Clarity Act ethics provision Donald Trump has agreed to
UPDATE (Sept. 14, 2026, 16:00 UTC): Incorporates Lummis tweet.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/09/14/bipartisan-group-of-state-attorneys-general-oppose-clarity-act-over-federal-preemption-worry.
