Deborah Kovsky-Apap, a partner with Troutman Pepper Locke, was quoted in the March 9, 2026 Payments Dive article, “Clarity Act Stokes Debate on Crypto.”

However, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act — or simply just Clarity Act — “draws some lines on when a token is treated like a security and when it becomes a digital commodity,” said Deborah Kovsky-Apap, a partner at the law firm Troutman Pepper Locke. “The law is more focused on a division of jurisdiction between the [Securities and Exchange Commission] and the [Commodity Futures Trading Commission].”

Those tests can be head-spinningly complex, but put simply, if a digital currency is specifically tied to the value of a company, it’s an asset under the purview of the SEC, Kovsky-Apap said.

But cryptocurrencies and other digital tokens that are openly traded in marketplaces and are not tied to a specific company are more likely to be classified as commodities, she said.

And a specific cryptocurrency or stablecoin won’t necessarily remain under the same category throughout its lifetime, Kovsky-Apap stressed.

A digital asset tied to the value of a specific company can become a commodity if it becomes available in a marketplace accessible to the general public, she said.

The Genius Act specifically bars yields on stablecoins, but the law included loopholes that could allow stablecoin yields that the House version of the Clarity Act seeks to close, Kovsky-Apap said. Banks want that language included in the final version, while crypto supporters want it removed.

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