CLARITY | Crypto

The President-backed effort to set broader rules for US crypto markets is nearing a political deadline in Congress as banks press lawmakers and regulators to block stablecoin companies from offering rewards that resemble interest on deposits. The fight has become one of the central unresolved questions in Washington’s crypto agenda. At stake is whether dollar-linked […] The post Congress has only weeks left to convince banks on crypto CLARITY Act or risk losing it to midterms appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The legislation assumes that all crypto activity must pass through financial intermediaries licensed by the US government, warns Gnosis co-founder. The regulatory provisions outlined in the US Digital Asset Market Structure Clarity Act, otherwise known as the CLARITY Act, threaten to give large financial institutions control over crypto, according to Dr. Friederike Ernst, co-founder of the Gnosis blockchain protocol. Regulations in the CLARITY crypto market structure bill assume that activity must pass through centralized intermediaries, which risks consolidating crypto rails in the hands of a few entrenched players, Ernst told Cointelegraph. “Blockchain’s real breakthrough was not just a new financial infrastructure. It was the ability for users themselves to become owners of the networks they rely on," she said. Ernst added: Read more

While many in the industry believe stablecoin rewards are the only sticking point for the US CLARITY Act, a Galaxy digital executive said more obstacles could appear. The US CLARITY Act, which aims to bring greater regulatory clarity to the crypto industry, may have little chance of passing this year if it doesn’t move forward within the next seven weeks, according to a crypto executive. “If CLARITY doesn't pass committee by the end of April, odds of passage in 2026 become extremely low,” Galaxy Digital head of firmwide research Alex Thorn said in an X post on Saturday. “This needs to hit the Senate floor by early May... floor time is running out, and odds diminish every day that passes,” Thorn said. It comes after US Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he doesn’t expect the chamber to act on the digital asset market structure legislation before April, as it will prioritize the SAVE America Act, which would require voters to provide proof of US citizenship in person to register. Read more

If the crypto industry and community banks cannot find common ground on the CLARITY Act, the only winners will be the “big banks,” according to crypto executive Austin Campbell. A crypto executive has pushed back against claims by the president of a community banking association that any compromise between the banking sector and the crypto industry on the US CLARITY Act would be a mistake. “If community banks and crypto can't find a way to work together, we already know who the winners are. It's not the community banks. It's not consumers. It's not the crypto industry,” Zero Knowledge Consulting founder Austin Campbell said in an X post on Friday. “It is the big banks,” Campbell said. Read more

Washington’s push for a federal crypto rulebook reignited a long-running industry debate over what “regulatory clarity” actually delivers and who it helps. At the center of the debate is H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, a bill that supporters present as a long-awaited replacement for years of regulation by enforcement. The […] The post White House stablecoin deadline slips as Hoskinson warns CLARITY Act could push US crypto founders offshore appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The OCC’s proposal to implement the GENIUS Act would bar yield on payment stablecoins and introduce a rebuttable presumption against common issuer-affiliate reward structures. The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has dropped a 376‑page proposal to implement the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act that looks to settle the ongoing stablecoin yield fight. The proposal is open to public comment for 60 days from Wednesday’s publication date, and sets out detailed rules for permitted payment stablecoin issuers under the OCC’s jurisdiction. Supervised entities would be barred from paying any form of interest or yield, whether in cash, tokens or other consideration, “solely in connection with the holding, use, or retention” of a payment stablecoin, consistent with section 4(a)(11) of the GENIUS Act.  Read more

The US Clarity Act may repeat the same structural mistakes that the European Union made with MiCA, says crypto lawyer Yuriy Brisov.

The US Clarity Act may repeat the same structural mistakes that the European Union made with MiCA, says crypto lawyer Yuriy Brisov.

Hyperliquid launched a policy center in Washington on Feb. 18, seeded with 1 million HYPE tokens worth roughly $28 million, led by Jake Chervinsky, the crypto lawyer who spent years building the industry's Capitol Hill playbook. The Hyperliquid Policy Center operates as a 501(c)(4) focused on decentralized finance and perpetual derivatives. This isn't just another […] The post If CLARITY stalls, on-chain perps stay offshore — and US traders get pushed out appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The CLARITY Act moved quickly through the House of Representatives since it was introduced in June 2025 but has been plagued with delays in the Senate. The crypto industry and investors are awaiting the completion of the US CLARITY Act, which has been delayed amid partisan politics and industry concerns. The bill would rewrite the rules of the road for the crypto industry, from which agency oversees it to regulations for decentralized finance (DeFi). Currently, lawmakers in the US Senate are hammering out the details, with significant points of contention. Democrats want a bipartisan bill with ethics provisions and a bailout prohibition that Republicans roundly rejected. Read more

The fight over CLARITY has always been sold as a battle for rules, a way to finally give the U.S. crypto market a clean lane to run in. That story still matters. The past week made something else clearer: the legislation is becoming a proxy war over who gets to pay Americans for holding digital […] The post CLARITY Act is turning into a proxy war over who pays Americans for holding “digital dollars” appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Delaying the CLARITY market structure bill until 2027, after the US midterm elections, may significantly reduce its chances of passage, the Treasury Secretary said. Passing the CLARITY crypto structure bill could improve market sentiment amid the ongoing downturn, according to United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The stalling of the CLARITY bill over concerns voiced by crypto industry executives has negatively impacted the industry, Bessent told CNBC on Friday. He said: I think if the Democrats were to take the House, which is far from my best case, then the prospects of getting a deal done will just fall apart,” Bessent continued. He said that getting the bill passed “as soon as possible” and sent to US President Donald Trump for signature by spring, which occurs between late March and late June in the US, is important, given the potential shift in the balance of power in the 2026 midterm elections.  Read more

Washington’s stablecoin stalemate is hardening into a fight that banks recognize immediately as a deposit issue. The dispute is no longer centered on whether dollar-linked tokens should exist. It centers on whether they should be treated as deposits, especially if consumers can earn interest-like rewards simply for holding them. A recent White House meeting aimed […] The post If crypto rewards survive CLARITY Act banks are likely to rapidly build their own branded digital dollars appeared first on CryptoSlate.

White House stablecoin meeting could unfreeze the CLARITY Act, but your USDC rewards may be the price The newly confirmed Feb. 10 White House meeting on stablecoin policy is being framed by some market observers as a step toward breaking the logjam around the CLARITY Act, a broad crypto market-structure bill that has already run […] The post White House meeting could unfreeze the crypto CLARITY Act this week, but crypto rewards likely to be the price appeared first on CryptoSlate.

DeFi exclusions sound protective, yet the CLARITY Act’s Bank Secrecy expansion may target your access points While supporters say the CLARITY Act could bring long-awaited regulatory certainty to crypto markets, not everyone is on board. Critics argue the bill doesn’t need to “ban DeFi” to reshape it. Their claim is that CLARITY can leave base-layer […] The post Lawmakers threaten decentralized crypto access using Bank Secrecy laws in CLARITY appeared first on CryptoSlate.

On Jan. 29, the Senate Agriculture Committee advanced the crypto market-structure bill, giving the legislation known as the “CLARITY Act” its first concrete win in the Senate. The Agriculture panel’s action moves the bill closer to a full Senate fight over which regulator sets the rules for spot crypto markets. However, the bigger near-term problem […] The post US Senate advances new crypto law yet CLARITY gridlock might kill the bill for good appeared first on CryptoSlate.

US President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to break a deadlock over crypto market structure legislation as lawmakers remain divided on stablecoin yield. Officials in the administration of US President Donald Trump are reportedly set to sit down with executives from the banking and cryptocurrency industries on Monday as lawmakers attempt to revive the stalled CLARITY Act. People familiar with the matter told Reuters the meeting will be hosted by the White House’s crypto council and will bring together industry trade groups to discuss how the bill treats interest and other rewards offered on dollar-pegged stablecoins. The legislation has been held up in the Senate for months, with a scheduled Banking Committee vote postponed earlier this month amid concerns from lawmakers and industry groups over the stablecoin interest provision. Read more

The CLARITY Act aims to address the crypto market structure. See how it approaches token classification, exchanges, disclosures and regulatory oversight. The CLARITY Act aims to address years of regulatory uncertainty with a structured framework that clearly defines digital assets, intermediary roles and disclosure obligations. It places most spot trading of qualifying tokens under CFTC oversight, while keeping the SEC responsible for primary offerings, disclosures and investor protections. The bill focuses on regulating activities as much as assets, setting registration and conduct standards for exchanges, brokers and dealers to strengthen market integrity and transparency. Read more

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, better known as the CLARITY Act, was supposed to draw clean lines around crypto assets and which regulator gets the first call. CryptoSlate has already walked readers through the bill’s larger architecture ahead of the January markup, including what changed, what stayed unresolved, and why jurisdiction and state preemption […] The post Will your crypto rewards survive upcoming CLARITY law? A plain-English guide to Section 404 appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Charles Hoskinson has attacked Brad Garlinghouse’s endorsement of the CLARITY Act, saying it could hand oversight back to agencies that sued crypto firms. He has blamed David Sacks and Trump politics for slowing momentum while Mike Novogratz is upbeat and Brian Armstrong has pulled Coinbase support. The post Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson Blasts Ripple CEO Over ‘Sabotaged’ Clarity Act – Why? appeared first on Cryptonews.