Crypto Execs Push for CLARITY Act: 'Imperfect' Bill Beats Delay
Five crypto executives urge lawmakers to pass the CLARITY Act in September, warning that another delay could stall institutional investment and push infrastructure overseas.
Crypto executives are urging lawmakers to compromise and pass the CLARITY Act when Congress returns in September, warning another delay could squander the bill’s best remaining chance this year.
Five industry executives told CoinMarketCap that disputes over stablecoin rewards, ethics rules, and other provisions should not derail the broader framework. An imperfect but durable law would be preferable to reversible agency guidance, they said. Further delay could slow institutional investment and shift infrastructure to foreign markets with established rules.
The bill faces its first Senate floor test on Sept. 15, when lawmakers will vote on whether to begin formal consideration. Failure to secure the required 60 votes could effectively end the CLARITY Act’s chances of becoming law this year.
“This current delay is significant because lawmakers are running out of time before the November midterms, when passing major legislation becomes considerably harder,” Maylea Ma, deputy general counsel at 1inch, told CoinMarketCap.
“I firmly believe that an imperfect framework is better than the current scenario of favorable-but-reversible agency guidance,” Ma added.
Ma said 1inch is focused on provisions protecting software developers, self-custody, and non-custodial platforms.
“The priority isn’t a perfect bill, but instead a durable framework that preserves meaningful protections for DeFi developers,” she said.
Banks are opposed to rules permitting stablecoin issuers to pay interest-like rewards, the report said. Ma said stablecoins are increasingly used to move money, not simply hold value.
The GENIUS Act laid out federal rules for stablecoin issuance, reserves, and redemption, but left rewards offered by exchanges and other intermediaries unresolved.
Vincent Chok, CEO and co-founder of FDUSD issuer First Digital, said consistent rules would bolster institutional trust.
“The framework should also recognize that stablecoin markets are already global,” he said.
The CLARITY Act is particularly important for US-based decentralized finance (DeFi) developers. As drafted, the bill would exempt non-custodial software, including DeFi protocols, from rules designed for institutional financial intermediaries. Law enforcement groups say exemptions could make crimes harder to track.
Ma said the draft already includes key protections. Those provisions could change as supporters seek the 60 votes needed for passage.
Even without the bill, institutional crypto adoption is accelerating, with dozens of institutions rolling out crypto exchange-traded funds, tokenized funds, and stablecoin infrastructure. Crypto market analysis shows the sector continues to attract capital.
Sam MacPherson, CEO of DeFi capital allocator Spark, said another delay may slow certain investment decisions but would not reverse the trend toward broader adoption.
“Institutions are already investing in digital-asset and stablecoin infrastructure,” he told CoinMarketCap. “CLARITY would accelerate that process rather than start it.”
Michael Ho, co-founder of D3, the team behind Doma Protocol, said clear oversight would help bring more capital on-chain.
“Oversight is not the cost of participating in this market,” he said. “It is the condition for the market getting any bigger.”
Galaxy’s Alex Thorn has lowered his odds of CLARITY passing to 10%, according to a post on X. The bill’s supporters face a narrow path to 60 votes in the Senate.
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