Major crypto firms, including Coinbase’s lobbying arm Stand With Crypto and 65 other organizations, have sent a joint letter urging U.S. lawmakers to support the CLARITY Act. They emphasized that the bipartisan bill is critical for establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets.
Why Support the CLARITY Act?
The main objective of the CLARITY Act is to assign primary responsibility for overseeing most crypto tokens and spot markets to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Its supporters want the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate security-like assets (such as certain stablecoins and tokenized investments).
The CLARITY Act also seeks to formally codify the provisions of the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA). The provision would exempt non-custodial developers—such as software creators, miners, and validators—from being classified as money transmitters, following guidance from FinCEN in 2019.
The letter, delivered ahead of the House’s Crypto Week session scheduled for July 14–18, highlights a growing concern among crypto holders. It further argues that without clear “rules of the road,” U.S. innovation risks falling behind countries with friendlier regulatory environments.
Notably, lawmakers are responding as the bill cleared markups in the House Financial Services and Agriculture Committees and may reach a full vote soon. However, it still faces pushback from some Democrats, who fear that it may overly weaken the SEC’s oversight or introduce new regulatory complexity.
Other U.S. Crypto Bills Struggle
Other U.S. crypto bills are currently struggling in Congress due to leadership battles, partisan divisions, and ethical concerns. For example, the GENIUS Act, the first federal stablecoin legislation to clear the U.S. Senate with a bipartisan vote of 68–30. The bill aims to create a comprehensive regulatory structure for stablecoins.
In contrast, the STABLE Act, approved by the House Financial Services Committee in early April 2025, takes a more centralized federal approach. It shares GENIUS’ core requirements for full reserve backing, disclosure, and audits. Still, it places primary oversight under the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and includes criminal penalties for false reporting.
Interestingly, ongoing discussions suggest that legislators may combine the CLARITY Act with other crypto-related bills, such as the GENIUS Act, or advance them during Crypto Week.
Meanwhile, in April 2025, President Trump signed a repeal of the DeFi Broker Rule into law, barring the IRS from issuing a similar rule in the future without new legislation. The development marked the first crypto-related bill enacted into law.
