CLARITY or Not, America’s Status as the World’s Crypto Hub Is Not in Doubt

Shah Ramezani argues that even if the CLARITY Act stalls in the current Congress, the direction of US crypto regulation is already set, and the scale of bank and payments-industry stablecoin activity now underway means America’s position as the world’s crypto hub is already secure.

A Bill Running Out of Road in This Congress

Last Sunday, Senator Cynthia Lummis took to X to warn that if lawmakers didn’t pass the CLARITY Act in the current Congress, it may not do so until 2030. Lummis, the Republican junior senator for Wyoming, warned that the ultimate cost would be years of wasted investment, jobs, and tax revenue.

While September 15th may not be the final chance to get the law to the statute books, the timeline for doing so just gets that bit longer. In fact, given the political divisions and many unresolved issues relating to law enforcement and ethics, it looks highly unlikely that CLARITY will pass before this session of Congress ends in January 2027.

Republicans and Democrats – and even Republicans and Republicans when it comes to yield specifically – remain divided on many aspects of the bill, which passed in the House of Representatives in July 2025. Those on the ground are saying that what is needed is someone to bring everyone together, but with the mid-terms in November, and then the beginning of the 2028 presidential cycle, it may not be a priority.

At stake is both whether digital assets are classed as securities or commodities and, as such, on a federal level, whether they should be regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). As it stands, the bill would hand the CFTC responsibility for spot trading in digital commodities and give the SEC oversight of digital assets that are classed as securities. Above all else, it’s the ongoing uncertainty that needs resolving.

One sticking point is a disagreement over whether federal officials can sponsor or issue their own digital assets while in office. The updated Republican-backed text would prohibit covered federal officials and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring certain digital assets for payment, with enforcement reserved exclusively for the US attorney general. Democrats, however, argue that these restrictions and enforcement provisions don’t go far enough.

What Regulatory Uncertainty Has Already Cost

To the layman this may all look like mere semantics, but there are very clear practical reasons why it isn’t. When Democrat Gary Gensler was chair of the SEC and took an aggressive stance against the nascent crypto industry – arguing that most crypto tokens were securities and should be regulated by the SEC – years of progress in developing US crypto was thrown into doubt.

Life became extremely complicated because, in some cases, two agencies were trying to regulate the same product: the CLARITY Act would prevent that from happening again. Even if there were to be another hostile SEC chair, the regulator couldn’t just change its approach on a whim.

Crypto’s Place in the Economy Is Already Cemeted

But CLARITY also cuts to the heart of the real debate over whether crypto is a legitimate part of our economy or not. President Donald Trump’s administration has supported an industry that adds billions to the US economy through spending, salaries, and business output, supporting tens of thousands – if not hundreds of thousands – of jobs in the process.

Stablecoin issuers also hold massive amounts of short-term U.S. debt, which ties digital assets directly to government borrowing and liquidity. Last year’s GENIUS Act defined payment stablecoins, established federal and state regulatory pathways for permitted issuers, and made clear that qualifying payment stablecoins are neither securities nor commodities.

This was the first move in the right direction – CLARITY is the second.

So, what happens if it doesn’t pass and the Republicans suffer in the mid-terms and, come 2028, a new president is elected who doesn’t value crypto in the same way as Trump? Can the US still take its place as the world centre of cryptocurrency?

The Door Is Already Open

In truth, it wouldn’t be the end of the world, because the genie is very much out of the bottle. Both Democrats and Republicans acknowledge that the industry is an essential part of the American – and global – financial system and that it can’t be regulated out of existence.

Just last week, reports emerged that 21 major global financial institutions – including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citi, Wells Fargo, Deutsche Bank, Santander and UBS – were setting up a joint company to issue a U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin in the first half of 2027, with plans to expand later into the Euro and other G7 currencies.

In July, Visa introduced the Visa Stablecoin Platform to help banks manage and transfer Open USD; a dollar-backed stablecoin introduced through Open Standard, an initiative involving financial and technology companies including Stripe, BlackRock, and Mastercard. Stripe and Paradigm have also built a blockchain, Tempo, designed to support stablecoin payments.

The party hasn’t just started – it is well underway. The who’s who of tech and finance are already here, chilling in the pool. Even the European Union – which is mulling its Digital Euro – is toying with the idea of getting in the water. A star guest, the U.S. government is en route, its car stuck in traffic. But the door is open, and it is well and truly on its way.