CLARITY Act isn’t perfect, but it’s the bill US Congress must pass this summer

Opinion by: Bill Hughes, senior counsel and director of global regulatory matters at Consensys Software

The US Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 - known as the CLARITY Act - is not perfect, but the Congress should pass it this Summer and enshrine the US as the world leader in digital assets

If perfect were possible, we would have it by now since the crypto market structure has been a problem Congress has wanted to solve since at least 2019. We do not need the perfect bill

The US needs a regime that meaningfully improves on the status quo. CLARITY is the product of years of bicameral and bipartisan policy work and is just such a bill. It is a better bill than the previous version passed last year with bipartisan support

Real regulation, not an industry wish list

Some critics believe CLARITY is nothing more than an early Christmas gift to the crypto industry. That simply is not true. Lawmakers have urged the crypto industry to walk the walk in the US, not just talk the talk when it comes to regulation. At the same time, the blockchain industry has insisted on smartly tailored rules applying to disintermediated computer networks CLARITY meets both challenges and more, as it sets a high bar for decentralization and an aggressive timeline for projects to meet it. This is a good result

Some will oppose it regardless, but the bill puts the US in a much better position than the status quo. It sets a high standard for pushing the industry in the right direction. It encourages replacing blackbox intermediaries with open computer networks that make markets fairer, more transparent, and more secure. Blockchain innovators who cannot adapt will have to contend with traditional rules. Everyone will be incentivized to build differently and more transparently New innovators will flood the US rather than our international competitors, pushing the US ahead on the world stage

CLARITY is not a sweetheart deal. There are some provisions with which the blockchain world categorically disagrees. For example, a recent draft does not permit blockchain developers to make software that facilitates peer-to-peer transactions in commodity futures and derivatives products. Those markets would remain intermediated

That would be a mistake, but one that can hopefully be fixed by amendment or future policy efforts. No bill is perfect. This bill will have bad provisions regardless of how hard sponsors work on it. That there is plenty of sour in the mix to offset the sweet makes it pretty clear that CLARITY was not drafted using the crypto lobby’s pen

CLARITY is good for the US

Even when you stack all of the provisions causing blockchain innovators to hold their noses, they simply do not outweigh the good this legislation will do for consumers, entrepreneurs, and the American economy. It would signal a new era where software developers have durable rules that can be clearly understood and provide them a path to innovate responsibly

The House is expected to vote on CLARITY this week, and they are expected to pass it. Then, it goes to the Senate, where its reception in the Senate Banking committee might be warmer than in the Senate Agriculture committee. It is often the Senate’s prerogative to set aside a House bill in favor of one drafted itself. It’s time everyone keeps their eyes on the calendar

Related: It's Crypto Week: These are the key dates to watch

A significant risk is that we run out of time to finish something in 2025 if we start from scratch now. To reach the finish line, embrace the simple elegance of working from CLARITY rather than choosing a more cumbersome whole-cloth approach. The achievement of getting the market structure done is worth taking the less desirable but easier path

CLARITY would bolster the SEC and CFTC

Those officials worried about the investor protection agencies should be at the front of the queue to vote “yea” for CLARITY. The SEC and CFTC currently have the unenviable task of providing rules and guidance over a space they recognize as fundamentally different from the markets they currently regulate. They must do so knowing that the statutory landscape will inevitably change, but precisely how is yet to be seen. They are now doing their jobs effectively with a hand tied behind their back and blindfolded. CLARITY solves this. It mandates regulators to work together to make a durable regulatory framework that recognizes the technology for what it is and ensures market integrity and investor protection while giving innovation the space to breathe

This year's congressional passage of CLARITY would be a watershed moment for the blockchain industry, consumers, and US innovation in general. Whatever finally arrives on the Resolute Desk for signature will not be good or bad It will improve the status quo, however, marking the start of a new era of American technological leadership that will engender innovation from a new generation of builders who will prove up to the task

Opinion by: Bill Hughes, senior counsel and director of global regulatory matters at Consensys Software.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

• #Blockchain
• #Law
• #Congress
• #Adoption
• #United States
• #Donald Trump
• #Regulation Add reaction