Failing to pass the CLARITY Act could leave the industry vulnerable to a less crypto-friendly future U.S. government, Coin Center executive director Peter Van Valkenburgh warned. In an X post, he argued that rejecting developer protections in bills like the CLARITY Act and the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act in favor of “short-term business interests” and reliance on the current administration’s goodwill risks a “grim” outcome for crypto.
Van Valkenburgh said the goal of CLARITY is not to trust today’s regulators but to constrain the next administration. Without statutory protections, he warned, the sector would be subject to prosecutorial discretion, shifting political fashions, and fear rather than clear law.
The CLARITY Act stalled in the Senate after banks, crypto firms, and lawmakers failed to agree on key provisions, including whether to allow stablecoin yields. The bill would have established frameworks for registering crypto intermediaries, regulating digital assets, and classifying tokens.
Van Valkenburgh also predicted that absent legislative clarity, a future Department of Justice could increase prosecutions of privacy-tool developers as unlicensed money transmitters, and that existing regulatory interpretive guidance could be revoked.
Under the prior administration, former SEC Chair Gary Gensler was criticized by parts of the crypto industry for shaping policy through enforcement actions and settlements rather than formal rulemaking. Since Gensler resigned on Jan. 20, 2025, proponents say the SEC has shifted — dismissing several long-running enforcement actions and offering friendlier guidance on how it will treat crypto.
“If we lose this moment because we thought we’d have a bit more revenue and a bit more latitude under the short-term friendly discretion of the current administration, then we lose our way,” Van Valkenburgh said, stressing that failing to secure transparency, neutrality, and openness would hand future officials the power to clamp down.
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