Clarity Act Stalls, But Crypto Market Sees Silver Lining
The US Senate's failure to pass the Clarity Act has had an unexpected consequence for the crypto market. On September 15, the bill fell short of the necessary 60 votes, leading to a surge in prices for Bitcoin and Ether.
According to Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise, this setback accelerated the rollout of favorable regulatory guidance for the digital asset industry. The market responded positively to the news, with Bitcoin gaining nearly 8% and Ether rising 7% in the days following the vote.
The Clarity Act contained concessions negotiated with the traditional banking sector that were damaging to the crypto industry. However, its failure to pass has allowed established exchanges like Coinbase to continue offering reward programs tied to stablecoins without additional federal hurdles.
The SEC stepped into the regulatory void by approving a five-year innovation sandbox exemption for tokenized equities trading just two days after the legislative vote. This relief allows approved venues to facilitate trading in tokenized US equities through permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools without having to register as national securities exchanges.