Senators Press Ahead on CLARITY Act After Coinbase Withdrawal and Markup Delay
The CLARITY Act, a bipartisan U.S. bill to create a comprehensive crypto market structure, saw its Senate Banking Committee markup delayed after Coinbase withdrew support citing four key concerns: an effective ban on tokenized securities, restrictive DeFi rules, shifting jurisdiction that would subordinate the CFTC to the SEC, and limits on stablecoin reward features. Supporters, including senators such as Cynthia Lummis and other committee members, remain optimistic and continue negotiating compromise language. The bill aims to resolve regulatory fragmentation caused by prior FinCEN, SEC and OCC actions, an Executive Order on digital assets, and stepped-up enforcement. If passed, the CLARITY Act would clarify token classification, stablecoin rules and DeFi oversight—likely encouraging institutional flows, lowering compliance risk and reshaping stablecoin and DeFi markets. If it fails, enforcement-driven fragmentation would persist. Traders should watch forthcoming amendments and any new markup date for changes to token classification, DeFi treatment and stablecoin provisions, as outcomes could drive sector-specific volatility and influence institutional participation. (Main keyword: CLARITY Act)
Neutral
The news is neutral for market price action because it reduces regulatory uncertainty long-term but currently introduces short-term ambiguity. Positive: the CLARITY Act’s passage would likely be bullish by clarifying token classification, stablecoin rules and DeFi oversight, encouraging institutional inflows and lowering compliance risk. Negative: Coinbase’s withdrawal and the delayed markup raise the probability of contentious amendments or failure, which would maintain enforcement-driven fragmentation and could spur volatility or reduce near-term institutional appetite. Short-term impact: elevated uncertainty may increase sector-specific volatility (stablecoins, DeFi, tokenized securities) as traders react to amendment proposals and political negotiations. Long-term impact: if a balanced bill passes, expect clearer compliance paths, higher institutional participation and reduced long-run regulatory tail risk—supportive for market growth. Given the split effects and no immediate resolution, the overall price-directional signal is neutral until substantive legislative movement or finalized text emerges.