In the United States, the regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies is experiencing a period of intense activity with the proposed GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act. The former was signed on July 18 by Donald Trump, marking a historic milestone for cryptocurrencies in the United States. The latter, CLARITY, could be signed imminently.

The latter, known as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, is a bill that proposes a reclassification of digital assets as "digital commodities."

In recent hours, misinformation has circulated claiming that the text of this regulation had designated Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Cardano as “mature blockchains.  ” I reviewed this document and found that no section or article explicitly mentions Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Solana, or XRP, thus refuting recent claims. 

Definitions and requirements for a mature blockchain

While the CLARITY Act doesn't name specific cryptocurrency networks, it does repeatedly address the concept of a "mature blockchain" and establishes some requirements and definitions for understanding what it refers to. 

For example, section 31 of the first title of the law defines:  

“The term 'mature blockchain system' means a blockchain system, along with its related digital asset, that is not controlled by any one person or group of persons under common control.” 

CLARITY Act. 

This definition underlines the importance of decentralization as a fundamental criterion. 

Additionally, in the "Development Plan" section, within the section titled "Requirements Regarding Certain Digital Commodity Transactions," the law emphasizes the role of governance and establishes necessary conditions for a blockchain to be considered "mature":  

“…the various roles that exist or are intended to exist in relation to the blockchain system, such as users, service providers, developers, transaction validators, and governance participants, including a discussion of any mechanisms by which control or authority is exercised with respect to the blockchain system or its related digital asset, and any critical operational dependencies on the blockchain system or its related digital asset.” 

CLARITY Act. 

Here, decentralized governance is highlighted as a key factor, encompassing everything from users to validators, and considers how control is distributed. 

Furthermore, in the "Certification" section of "Mature Blockchain System Requirements," the law offers a first tentative definition based on this principle:  

“For the purposes of Sections 4(a)(8), 4B, and 4C of the Securities Act of 1933, any issuer of a digital commodity, person related to a digital commodity, person affiliated with a digital commodity, or decentralized governance system of a blockchain system may certify to the Securities and Exchange Commission that the blockchain system to which a digital commodity relates is a mature blockchain system.” 

CLARITY Act. 

This section allows key stakeholders, such as issuers or governance systems, to request certification that verifies decentralized governance, which involves a formal process for assessing maturity. This means a network must demonstrate that it does not rely on a single group to operate. 

Along the same lines, the law also clarifies that "a blockchain system, together with its digital commodity, shall not be excluded from being considered a mature blockchain system solely based on a functional, administrative, clerical, or ministerial action of a decentralized governance system, including any action taken by a person acting on behalf of and at the direction of the decentralized governance system…" 

This indicates that certain routine activities will not disqualify a network, provided the Commission approves them, protecting the interests of investors.  

What would then be the “mature blockchains”?

That question could be answered by elimination. Some cryptocurrency networks seem to fail to meet the requirement of decentralized governance independent of a central unit. 

For example, Ripple controls at least almost 40% of the XRP supply, implying that this company has significant power over the distribution and potential manipulation of the asset, affecting the perception of decentralization. 

In a similar case, the Ethereum Foundation is currently the third largest entity with ether (ETH) holdings, having been displaced from the first place just three days ago, suggesting a concentration of power in the Ethereum ecosystem.  

Likewise, in both Ethereum and Cardano, although more debatable, the influence of the EF, as well as that of Charles Hoskinson and his company IOHK, who drive the evolution of these ecosystems and protocols with great weight, partially impact governance, questioning their total independence. 

Bitcoin seems to be more of a truly decentralized network. Unlike projects with central entities directing their development, Bitcoin operates without a single authority, but rather with a group of collaborators. While until recently Bitcoin Core, with its adoption of over 90%, could be considered a group that directed the protocol policies of the network's nodes, the rise of Knots as an alternative Bitcoin client is progressively reducing its influence and limiting its unidirectional action.  

A recent example of this decentralization of Bitcoin is the conflict between clients, which led operators who consider Bitcoin Core's measures to be erroneous to migrate their structures to Bitcoin Knots.   

As a result, the number of Knots operators has grown since last April, when it numbered just a few hundred, to nearly 4,000 today, representing more than 15% of the total number of nodes.   

This transition reflects the network's ability to adapt, strengthening its resilience to centralization. 

In any case, the CLARITY Act opens a debate about how these criteria will be measured. The lack of specific names leaves classification up to future regulations, a point that could shape the cryptoasset ecosystem in the coming years. 

The concrete fact is that the CLARITY bill, enacted by the House of Representatives of the US Congress, still needs to be approved by the Senate and then signed by Donald Trump, President of the US, who since assuming his second term has shown himself to be very close to the adoption of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.