BlackRock Backs CLARITY Act Amid Wall Street Push for Digital Asset Regulation

BlackRock has publicly endorsed the CLARITY Act, which aims to bring clarity and regulation to the US digital asset market. The world's largest asset manager sees this legislation as an important step towards creating a more investor-focused regulatory framework.

In a statement provided to Politico, BlackRock's Global Head of Market Development Samara Cohen said that the bill could support innovation while preserving transparency, resilience, and investor protections in US capital markets. This endorsement comes amid a push from Wall Street for digital asset legislation, with other major firms such as Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, and Schwab also supporting the CLARITY Act.

The institutional support for the bill is significant, given that BlackRock manages $15.3 trillion in assets under management, making its regulatory position difficult to ignore. The company has a direct commercial interest in the rules being discussed, with nearly $80 billion managed through digital asset exchange-traded products and $65 billion in stablecoin reserves.

However, despite this institutional support, there are still significant disagreements over certain aspects of the bill, particularly regarding stablecoin rewards and political ethics. The legislation would prohibit interest-like payments on passive stablecoin balances while allowing some rewards tied to transactions or platform activity, which is a contentious issue between banks and crypto companies.

Lawmakers also disagree over how strongly the bill should restrict senior officials and their families from issuing, promoting, or profiting from digital assets. The reach of compliance obligations for decentralized platforms and software developers that do not hold customer assets remains contested as well.