CLARITY Act Setback Pressures Coinbase as ARB Outlook Brightens

The CLARITY Act failed to secure the 60 Senate votes needed to advance, reducing the chance of US crypto market-structure legislation passing before the 3 November midterm elections. The setback increases regulatory uncertainty for exchanges and puts Coinbase at the greatest risk because its business depends on registration rules, eligible assets and platform requirements. Coinbase, Circle and Strategy shares fell by about 5% to 10%, with Coinbase leading the decline. The CLARITY Act remains a key regulatory catalyst for crypto markets. Further delays could pressure US-listed crypto equities and weigh on sentiment toward exchange-related tokens and businesses. Circle may be less directly exposed because its revenue relies more on USDC adoption and reserve income, while Strategy’s main exposure is Bitcoin holdings and financing activity. Attention has also shifted to network growth and crypto income. Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick forecast that Arbitrum’s ARB token could reach $10 by 2030 and outperform Bitcoin and Ether, supported by tokenised assets, traditional finance moving onchain and higher Layer-2 revenue, including potential activity from Robinhood Chain. ARB had already risen about 86% in one month, although the forecast depends on sustained adoption. Bitmine reported holdings of about 5.95 million ETH, including more than 5.06 million staked. At current yields, the position could generate roughly $334 million in annual staking income, strengthening the investment case for ETH-related exposure. Strategy did not buy Bitcoin for a second consecutive week and instead spent $139.3 million on preferred-share buybacks. Phemex co-founder Federico Variola said artificial intelligence has been a net negative for crypto because it can divert liquidity and help attackers discover vulnerabilities faster. Other security specialists said AI could also become an important defensive tool. For traders, the combined picture is mixed: regulatory delays are negative for crypto-linked equities, while Ethereum staking revenue and Layer-2 adoption could support selective strength in ETH and ARB over the longer term.