The United States will lose its leadership position in crypto to other countries, including China, if US lawmakers fail to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY), a crypto market structure bill, according to Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis.
Passing a comprehensive crypto regulatory framework would “ensure” that other countries “do not write the rules of the next financial era,” Lummis said. She added in a separate X post:
“America built the dollar-dominated financial system that has anchored global stability for a century. The Clarity Act ensures we build the next one. The time to act is now, before Beijing decides it will.”
In May, the Senate Banking Committee voted to advance the CLARITY Act after the legislation had stalled for months, reviving crypto industry hopes that the bill might be codified into law in 2026.
Source: Senator Cynthia Lummis
The crypto market structure bill is one of the most significant pieces of crypto regulations in the US, but it is unclear if it will be signed into law in 2026 due to opposition from the banking lobby and the looming US midterm elections.
Related: ‘We are so close this time’ — Senator Lummis on market structure bill
JPMorgan CEO says banks will oppose CLARITY, as the window to pass it narrows
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said on Friday that banks will oppose the latest version of the bill because it still allows crypto companies to pay interest on user deposits.
He added that the current iteration of the CLARITY Act does not impose the same anti-money laundering (AML) and capital reserve requirements on crypto companies that banks must follow.
The full text of the CLARITY Act. Source: US Congress
“The banks will not accept it that way,” Dimon said, adding that the banks would continue to “fight” the bill. Dimon was critical of crypto exchange Coinbase and its CEO Brian Armstrong’s efforts to pass the bill.
“No one is going to bow down to this guy or that company,” Dimon said. Meanwhile, the window to pass the CLARITY Act is narrowing as the US heads into the midterm election season.
If the bill is not signed into law in 2026, the window to pass the legislation may not come again until 2030, Senator Lummis warned.