WSJ Editorial Fails to Deter Crypto Leaders: Clarity Act Still a Go?

The Wall Street Journal's editorial board recently published an opinion piece titled 'Clarity for Crypto, Sort Of' on August 4, criticizing the CLARITY Act. The act aims to bring clarity to digital assets by regulating them under existing laws and guidelines.

Crypto leaders have been quick to respond, pointing out several inaccuracies in the WSJ's claims. Miles Jennings, crypto general counsel at Andreessen Horowitz, posted a side-by-side comparison of the bill's July 22 consolidated draft and the editorial's claims, highlighting that the actual text runs opposite to what was stated.

Jennings argued that the GENIUS Act, which the CLARITY Act builds upon, bars only issuers from paying yield, while expanding this ban to exchanges and their affiliates in the new bill. He also noted that decentralized systems with a controlling operator already fail the bill's own test for what counts as DeFi, making them subject to regulation.

Other experts, including Ji Kim, President and Acting CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, and former Senator Pat Toomey, have also weighed in on the matter. They argue that stablecoin issuers face no mismatch between lending against demand deposits and paying interest, as the GENIUS Act already requires full cash backing.

The bill's path through Congress remains uncertain, with prediction markets putting its chances at roughly 23 percent as of August 5, down from near 70 percent earlier this year. Talks between Senator Thom Tillis and Senator Ruben Gallego over ethics provisions covering federal officials have stalled, with the White House yet to respond to a counteroffer.