CLARITY Act Slammed for Favoring Crypto Middlemen Over Decentralized Tech

Hermine Wong, a Berkeley Law lecturer, has criticized the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act bill, saying it focuses on protecting large crypto intermediaries rather than the technology itself.

Wong argues that only 2-4% of the bill's text is devoted to the underlying technology, while 44-77% covers exchanges, brokers, custodians, and other intermediaries. This approach runs counter to the original idea behind cryptocurrencies, reducing the financial system's reliance on trusted third parties.

She claims that major crypto companies have too much political influence, with over $200 million raised during the 2024 election cycle, mostly from Coinbase, a16z, and Ripple alone.