Coin Center: If the Clarity Act fails to pass, the US government may strengthen cryptocurrency regulation in the future.

Peter Van Valkenburgh, Executive Director of Coin Center, stated that if the CLARITY Act, a crypto market structure bill, fails to pass, a future US government that is unfriendly to the industry may further strengthen its regulation of the crypto sector. If the developer protection legislation in the CLARITY Act and the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act is rejected, and short-term commercial interests and the current regulatory environment are prioritized, the industry could face a disadvantageous situation. Van Valkenburgh stated that the purpose of the CLARITY Act is to constrain future governments through law, not to rely on the attitude of the current government; without relevant legal protection, the crypto industry may be affected by enforcement discretion, policy changes, and uncertainty. According to his disclosure, the CLARITY Act has already been blocked in the Senate because banks, crypto companies, and legislators failed to reach an agreement on key provisions (including whether to allow stablecoin yields). The bill covers a crypto intermediary registration framework, digital asset regulation, and token classification. Furthermore, in the absence of legislative clarity, the Department of Justice may strengthen enforcement against privacy tool developers, treating them as unregistered money transfer institutions, and existing regulatory interpretative guidance may also be withdrawn. Former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler faced industry criticism for pushing policy through enforcement actions and settlements with crypto companies, and for informally shaping rules. Since his departure on January 20, 2025, the SEC has dropped several long-standing enforcement cases against crypto companies and issued more lenient regulatory guidance. (Cointelegraph)