Crypto Dealmaking Unfazed by Clarity Act Setback, Regulators Keep Moving
The Clarity Act, a long-awaited bill aimed at providing a lasting U.S. rulebook for digital assets, stalled in the Senate on September 15, failing to advance with 49 votes in favor and 50 against.
The bill's defeat has raised concerns about regulatory uncertainty, which could dampen crypto dealmaking. However, bankers and investors who spoke to CoinDesk don't expect the setback to slam the brakes on crypto mergers and acquisitions.
Paul McCaffery, head of digital assets at investment bank KBW, said that Congress isn't the only game in town, and that regulators have been moving proactively to provide the regulatory certainty markets need.
Just two days after the Senate vote, the SEC approved a temporary 'Innovation Exemption' allowing limited trading of tokenized U.S. stocks on certain on-chain venues, and on October 1, the agency proposed a new rule to clarify how investment firms can handle and keep customer crypto assets.