According to BlockBeats, a16z crypto head of policy and general counsel Miles Jennings said in an interview on Sept. 12 that some banks may not want the Digital Asset Market Structure bill, known as the CLARITY Act, to pass and become law.
On the banking sector’s claim that stablecoin rewards would lead to deposit outflows, Jennings said he has not seen evidence to support that argument.
Jennings says SEC action alone cannot provide long-term certainty
Jennings said administrative action by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cannot, by itself, give founders long-term certainty that lasts across administrations. He added that the Gary Gensler-era approach of regulation through enforcement could continue to push crypto entrepreneurship outside the United States.
Revised CLARITY Act released ahead of Senate vote
On the previous day, Senate Republicans released a revised text of the CLARITY Act, with only a few days left before the first procedural vote on Sept. 15. The revised bill says it incorporates 114 amendment proposals raised by Democrats and states that it is designed to establish the first comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto markets in the United States.
The new version adds regulatory provisions for what it calls non-decentralized finance trading protocols. Under the bill, protocols that meet the definition would need to register with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while the CFTC and the U.S. Treasury Department would draft implementing rules. The text also further clarifies that DeFi-related provisions mainly apply to spot and cash digital commodity transactions.
Path forward remains uncertain
The bill’s prospects remain uncertain. The revised text makes no major changes to its ethics provisions and still leaves enforcement of those rules to the Department of Justice, while Democrats had previously sought to give state attorneys general broader enforcement authority.
Stablecoin yield, illicit finance and conflicts tied to Donald Trump’s crypto asset interests also remain the main sticking points in negotiations between the two parties.
The Senate is set to hold a procedural vote on moving the CLARITY Act forward on Sept. 15. Because advancing the process requires 60 votes and Republicans currently hold 53 seats, Democratic support is critical to whether the bill can continue to move ahead.