The U.S. Senate Banking Committee has advanced the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act with a 15-9 vote, following amendments led by Sen. Cynthia Lummis. The bill, which aims to establish a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, retained the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, protecting non-controlling blockchain developers from being classified as money transmitters. However, a last-minute change to the bill's DeFi language has raised concerns among decentralized finance advocates. The revised text allows regulators to classify protocols as not genuinely decentralized, potentially treating contributors as securities intermediaries. This change could impact developers and governance token holders, exposing them to financial regulations based on informal cooperation. The Clarity Act will now be reconciled with a related bill from the Senate Agriculture Committee before a full Senate vote. While the bill's advancement is seen as a step forward, the expanded regulatory reach over DeFi projects has introduced new uncertainties for the industry.