Showing a little spine on crypto

About time. And I know of no guarantees that the ridiculously titled CLARITY Act won’t become “law” in any case.

Last week, in the background of the Senate’s desperate scramble to get through the backlog of agenda items that have been piling up all summer, a dramatic showdown of money and power took place over the cryptocurrency industry’s top legislative priority, the CLARITY Act, which would sort digital assets into different categories and split regulation—though regulation is a strong word for the proposed framework in the bill—between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the smaller and more industry-friendly Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)...

But amidst outrage over the $1.4 billion crypto windfall (and counting) that President Trump has taken in during his second term, along with concerns over insufficient safeguards against illicit finance and a stablecoin yield loophole threatening bank deposits, even the most historically reliable allies for the industry within the Senate Democratic caucus—who still support the CLARITY Act’s broader vision—were steadfast in their opposition to the bill in its current form. Despite the industry’s desperation for a vote last week, Democrats managed to delay it until after the recess, and duck for now the scorched-earth revenge campaign from the industry’s political spending arm that might have resulted from voting no.

Though the CLARITY Act isn’t dead yet, the delay is a bad sign for the crypto industry’s legislative agenda, and for their tight relationship with a small, but up to this point sufficient, faction of the Democratic Party. There are even indications that support for crypto is starting to be a hindrance for Democrats in primaries, even with all the campaign cash it brings along. - The American Prospect