The CLARITY Act was meant to be the grand bargain that would finally establish who regulates crypto. Instead, it remains stalled in the Senate. Former CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo believes the industry will be fine regardless.
Speaking in mid-November 2026, Giancarlo said the US crypto industry could continue to grow and innovate even if the market-structure bill never reaches the president’s desk.
What Giancarlo actually said
Giancarlo’s case is based on a straightforward observation: crypto has already weathered years of regulatory pressure from both the SEC and the CFTC, and continued to grow.
He also emphasized that the agencies are not powerless. The SEC and CFTC can still write clearer rules on their own, without a new statute.
To illustrate his point, Giancarlo invoked the internet as a historical parallel. The technology advanced without a dedicated legislative framework, he said, and crypto could take a similar course.
Giancarlo has not dismissed the bill altogether. He has said the CLARITY Act would improve regulatory clarity and support initiatives such as LabCFTC, the agency’s innovation-focused effort. In his view, the bill would be helpful, but is not essential.
Why the bill stalled
The CLARITY Act passed the House in July 2025. Its path through the Senate has been much bumpier.
On September 15, 2026, a Senate cloture vote on the bill failed, with 49 votes in favor and 50 against. Cloture requires 60 votes to end debate and advance, leaving the measure well short of the threshold.
Giancarlo has attributed the setbacks to politics, particularly issues arising from President Trump’s memecoin venture. He argues that the tension between Trump’s personal crypto interests and the broader regulatory agenda has held up the bill.
The regulatory patchwork so far
Crypto does have some statutory guidance. The $GENIUS Act, a stablecoin law, was signed in July 2025, establishing a dedicated framework for that part of the market.
The CLARITY Act was intended to address broader, more complicated questions, including how token markets should operate and how authority should be divided between the SEC and the CFTC.
At the Strobe Summit on November 6, 2026, Giancarlo described another possible route. He argued that agency rulemaking combined with targeted legislation could address the gaps the CLARITY Act was designed to fill.
He specifically urged the CFTC to use its existing authority to set rules for exchanges. Instead of waiting for one sweeping bill, this approach would build clarity through narrower measures.
What this means
For investors and market participants, the bill’s delay means continued uncertainty. Without a comprehensive statute, some questions about who regulates what remain unresolved.
In practice, attention shifts from Capitol Hill to the regulators. SEC and CFTC actions on stablecoins, token classification, exchanges and DeFi projects may now matter more than any floor vote.
That approach involves trade-offs. Future agency leaders can rewrite rules much more easily than Congress can repeal a statute, making a regulation-first strategy inherently less durable.
If Giancarlo is right that Trump’s memecoin venture is weighing on the bill, reaching 60 Senate votes may depend as much on addressing conflict-of-interest concerns as on refining the legislative text.
For now, the industry has one major law on the books, the $GENIUS Act, and one major bill in limbo. Giancarlo’s message is that crypto does not need the second bill to pass to keep building, though the pace and direction of that development will depend heavily on what the SEC and CFTC do next.
Source: cryptobriefing.com. Adapted by NBTC.
Add A Comment
Comments are closed.