Lummis Warns US Will Lose Crypto Edge Without CLARITY Act

The United States risks ceding its crypto leadership crown to other nations—including China—if lawmakers don't pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY), according to Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis. Passing a comprehensive crypto regulatory framework would "ensure" that other countries "do not write the rules of the next financial era," Lummis said. She added in a separate X post: "America built the dollar-dominated financial system that has anchored global stability for a century. The Clarity Act ensures we build the next one. The time to act is now, before Beijing decides it will."

In May, the Senate Banking Committee voted to advance the CLARITY Act after the legislation had stalled for months, reviving crypto industry hopes that the bill might become law in 2026. The crypto market structure bill is one of the most significant pieces of crypto regulation in the US, though its path to the President's desk remains uncertain due to banking industry opposition and the approaching midterm election cycle.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said on Friday that banks will oppose the latest version of the bill because it still allows crypto companies to pay interest on user deposits. He added that the current iteration of the CLARITY Act does not impose the same anti-money laundering (AML) and capital reserve requirements on crypto companies that banks must follow. "The banks will not accept it that way," Dimon said, adding that banks would continue to "fight" the bill. Dimon was also critical of crypto exchange Coinbase and CEO Brian Armstrong's lobbying efforts: "No one is going to bow down to this guy or that company," he said.

Meanwhile, the window to pass the CLARITY Act is narrowing as the US enters midterm election season. If the bill isn't signed into law in 2026, Senator Lummis warned the next opportunity may not arrive until 2030.