NOBLE Backs US CLARITY Bill, Citing Stronger Tools Against Financial Crime

The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, or NOBLE, has formally endorsed the CLARITY Act, a US digital-asset market structure bill. It is the first public endorsement of the legislation by a major law-enforcement organization.

In a document released July 2 by Eleanor Terrett, host of Crypto in America, NOBLE wrote in a letter to US Senate leaders that the CLARITY Act "contains several provisions that preserve existing criminal justice authorities while providing law enforcement with meaningful new investigative tools."

NOBLE said the bill would expand regulatory obligations for digital-asset industry participants. It also would establish new rules on digital-asset seizure authority and transparency, while tightening oversight of virtual-asset kiosks.

Those steps would strengthen financial-crime investigations and give law enforcement additional tools to respond, the group wrote.

Addressing concerns raised by some critics, NOBLE said the CLARITY Act would not change existing federal criminal authorities used daily by investigators and prosecutors, including powers related to money laundering, unlicensed money transmission, conspiracy and sanctions enforcement. It said the bill's core purpose is to preserve those authorities while adding new operational tools needed to combat digital-asset crime.

NOBLE also said public safety and technological innovation should advance together. A modern regulatory framework should support responsible innovation while ensuring law enforcement has the authority and capacity needed to detect illegal activity, recover assets for victims and protect communities.

The group formally endorsed the CLARITY Act and said Congress, the Justice Department, the Treasury Department, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, state and local law-enforcement agencies, and the industry must work closely together to respond effectively to digital-asset-related financial crime.