Latest Update on the CLARITY Act
Following Coinbase’s surprise opposition earlier today, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee has canceled the scheduled review of the CLARITY Act, which was set to take place at 10:00 PM (Vietnam time).
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong highlighted four major flaws in the current version of the CLARITY Act:
Risk of effectively blocking tokenized securities, undermining innovation in on-chain capital markets.
Government access to users’ financial records, posing serious threats to user privacy.
Compliance requirements tailored to large incumbents, leaving crypto startups with little to no chance to participate—stifling innovation.
A blanket ban on interest-bearing stablecoins, preventing exchanges from offering rewards to stablecoin holders.
According to Armstrong, this draft concedes too much to traditional banks, and the crypto industry would be better off with no law than with a bad one.
Coinbase is widely regarded as the most influential policy voice in the crypto industry, with substantial lobbying power in Congress. Its withdrawal of support is therefore seen as a major blow to the CLARITY Act’s chances of passage.
There is no clear timeline for when discussions will resume. However, the issues raised today are likely to remain central points of contention in upcoming negotiations.
Short version: the bill was supposed to bring “clarity,” but instead exposed fault lines—privacy, innovation, and power. And when the biggest player walks away, Washington listens. $ICP $DASH
