CLARITY Still Without Clarity

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee has decided to pause further work and discussion on the CLARITY Act, a bill that was intended to define the basic structure of cryptocurrency market regulation in the country (read here). The formal trigger was a sharp and public statement by the largest U.S. crypto exchange, Coinbase, which withdrew its support for the document and explicitly stated that in its current form the law would bring more problems than solutions to the industry.

The CLARITY Act was originally conceived as an attempt to bring order to U.S. crypto regulation by clearly delineating the powers of regulators, defining the status of digital assets, and creating clear rules of the game for businesses and investors. However, as discussions progressed, the bill accumulated controversial provisions that sparked growing resistance from the industry.

One of the key criticisms concerns tokenized stocks and other tokens linked to traditional financial instruments. According to market participants, CLARITY’s provisions effectively impose a ban on the development of this segment in the United States. At a time when the tokenization of real-world assets is seen as one of the main future directions of financial markets, such a move looks like a strategic self-inflicted wound. Companies fear that businesses will simply be forced to relocate to other jurisdictions where the rules are more flexible and predictable.

The approach to DeFi raises no fewer questions. The bill предусматриes strict requirements for decentralized protocols, including expanded obligations for user identification and data collection. Critics argue that such measures are not only technically difficult to implement but also directly threaten users’ financial privacy. In essence, DeFi under CLARITY risks turning into ordinary centralized fintech with the same regulatory burdens but without its advantages.

Another separate issue is the redistribution of powers between regulators. The industry and some senators believe that CLARITY excessively strengthens the role of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) while weakening the position of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). For the market, this means continued legal uncertainty: the SEC has traditionally tended to classify most tokens as securities, which automatically subjects them to strict and often unpredictable regulation.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott publicly acknowledged that too many disagreements have accumulated around the bill to move forward in its current form. Senate Republicans also stated that the CLARITY Act in its present version does not serve the interests of the crypto industry and does not promote innovation in the United States. As a result, discussions and amendments have been postponed indefinitely.

The pause around CLARITY clearly highlights a broader problem in U.S. crypto regulation. On the one hand, authorities understand that the digital asset market has become too large to ignore. On the other hand, attempts to fit the crypto economy into the framework of old financial laws regularly lead to conflicts with businesses and the outflow of innovation abroad.

For the market, this news has a dual nature. In the short term, freezing CLARITY reduces regulatory risks and removes the threat of an overtly restrictive law being passed. In the long term, however, it once again delays the emergence of clear and transparent rules of the game. The United States continues to balance between the desire to control and the fear of losing technological leadership, while the crypto industry remains in limbo, waiting for a new round of negotiations and possibly an entirely different regulatory concept.