The U.S. may strengthen crypto regulation if the CLARITY Act fails.

ChainCatcher reports that Peter Van Valkenburgh, Executive Director of Coin Center, stated that if the CLARITY Act—the Cryptocurrency Market Structure Act—fails to pass, a future U.S. government unfriendly to the industry could once again intensify regulation of the crypto sector. If legislative protections for developers outlined in the CLARITY Act and the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act are rejected, and short-term commercial interests and the current regulatory environment are prioritized instead, the industry could face significant disadvantages. Peter Van Valkenburgh emphasized that the purpose of passing the CLARITY Act is to legally bind future administrations, rather than rely on the current government’s stance; without such legal safeguards, the crypto industry may be vulnerable to enforcement discretion, policy shifts, and regulatory uncertainty. According to him, the CLARITY Act has stalled in the Senate due to disagreements among banks, crypto firms, and lawmakers over key provisions—including whether stablecoin yields should be permitted. The bill encompasses frameworks for registering crypto intermediaries, regulation of digital assets, and token classification. Moreover, in the absence of legislative clarity, a future administration’s Department of Justice could intensify enforcement against developers of privacy tools, treating them as unregistered money transmitters, while existing regulatory interpretive guidance may be rescinded. Previously, Gary Gensler, former Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), faced industry criticism for advancing policy through enforcement actions and settlements with crypto firms rather than formal rulemaking. Since his departure on January 20, 2025, the SEC has dismissed several long-standing enforcement cases against crypto companies and issued more permissive regulatory guidance.