Coinbase’s lobbying arm, along with a swathe of crypto firms, has urged US House lawmakers to quickly pass a major bill when they meet next week that would lay out how the crypto industry is regulated.
In a letter sent on Monday, Stand With Crypto and 65 crypto advocacy groups and firms asked House lawmakers to back the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act — better known as the CLARITY Act.
“We know that there have been efforts to politicize crypto legislation, but with crypto drastically reshaping the global economy the U.S. risks falling behind unless we adopt pro-crypto policies that fully embrace blockchain technology,” it said.
The CLARITY Act specifies the roles of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission in policing crypto. It gives most of the jurisdiction over crypto to the CFTC, but the SEC would regulate products such as crypto-related securities.
US crypto leadership “slipping,” groups say
The group’s letter, signed by the likes of non-fungible token heavyweights OpenSea and Dapper Labs, claimed there were “already signs of U.S. crypto leadership slipping.”
The groups said that a “lack of standardized rules hinders institutional adoption and innovation, pushing talent and businesses to more crypto-friendly jurisdictions abroad.”
“We cannot afford to let inaction and uncertainty jeopardize our ability to secure America’s economic future,” it added. “Above all else the U.S. crypto industry needs market structure — which ensures there are clear rules of the road and provides the regulatory clarity that developers, users, and advocates need to continue innovating.”
House to consider CLARITY Act during “Crypto Week”
Republican House leaders said on Thursday that they would consider the CLARITY Act and two other crypto bills in the week starting July 14, in what they dubbed “Crypto Week.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson said the chamber would also review the central bank digital currency-banning Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act and the stablecoin-regulating GENIUS Act.
The GENIUS Act is likely to be at the top of the agenda, as it’s already passed the Senate, and US President Donald Trump said last month that he wants the bill passed as soon as possible, before Congress goes on a month-long break in August.
The CLARITY Act could be the next to hit Trump’s desk, as it’s now before the full House after the House Financial Services Committee and the Agriculture Committee advanced it on June 10.
It must still pass the Senate, and the Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott said last month that he wants to pass a crypto market structure bill “before the end of September.”
Democrats could disrupt CLARITY Act
Senate Democrats had frustrated Republicans’ efforts to quickly pass the GENIUS Act to the House, citing concerns over Trump’s growing crypto ties, and House Democrats have already signaled similar concerns with the CLARITY Act.
Maxine Waters, a top Democrat in the House Financial Services Committee, said at a hearing in early June that the CLARITY Act was a “rushed, overly complicated bill” that would exempt “some of the riskiest activities” in crypto.
“Legitimizing Trump’s crypto con is far from the only terrible thing about this confusing and reckless legislation,” she added, pointing to the Trump family’s growing net worth from their crypto ventures.
Trump has reportedly added at least $620 million to his net worth due to his and his family’s crypto ventures, which now include a crypto trading platform, a stablecoin, a crypto mining business, NFTs and multiple tokens.
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