The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act got added to the U.S. Senate legislative calendar under general orders on June 1. The legislation, popularly known as the CLARITY Act, aims to establish a
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act got added to the U.S. Senate legislative calendar under general orders on June 1.
The legislation, popularly known as the CLARITY Act, aims to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. It aims to resolve jurisdictional disputes between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regarding digital assets.
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The House of Representatives passed its version of the legislation in July last year.
But it has been difficult for it to pass the Senate vote due to one key provision: yield on stablecoin holdings.
A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency that is designed to maintain a fixed value by being pegged to a real-world asset, most commonly the U.S. dollar.
The value of 1 USD-pegged stablecoin is the same as that of $1. This is why a stablecoin is also called a "digital dollar" in finance parlance.
The banking industry has been fighting tooth and nail against any progress on the CLARITY Act because it believes the bank customers would ditch their savings accounts to hold dollar stablecoins in search of higher returns.
On the other hand, the crypto industry believes the banking industry is acting in a non-competitive manner and is lobbying the Congress to not have its dominance in the American finance industry challenged.
The battle recently got uglier as the JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon recently expressed his displeasure with the legislation and said stablecoins could become a "huge problem."
He also remarked that Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong is “full of sh*t,” accusing the leading crypto exchange in the U.S. of not caring about consumer protection.
In response, Armstrong posted a humorous meme titled "Heated Rivalry" on X.
https://t.co/T5cMfPPji5pic.twitter.com/VGwsfF0qCT
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) May 29, 2026
On June 1, Coinbase chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad appeared on Fox Business and said the CLARITY Act creates "important consumer protection" but it also allows the financial system to become "more responsive to the average American."
While the Republicans under President Donald Trump's leadership already support the bill, a "very large group" of Democrats is also behind it, he added.
"I think CLARITY will be the big bipartisan achievement of 2026 going into the midterms," Shirzad remarked. "This will actually be the biggest financial regulatory bill the Congress has done in quite some time, certainly since Dodd-Frank."
The Dodd-Frank Act is a comprehensive federal law enacted in 2010 to reshape the financial regulatory system after the 2007-2008 global financial crisis. The landmark legislation aims to prevent future economic meltdowns by increasing transparency, ending taxpayer-funded bailouts, and protecting consumers from abusive financial practices.
Shirzad went on to claim that the CLARITY Act is the first piece of legislation since the 1990s that gives new powers to the banks as it lets them enter the crypto space. Every big bank, including JPMorgan, wants to enter the crypto industry and Coinbase welcomes them, he added.
The CLARITY Act passed the Senate Banking Committee markup vote on May 14, and its addition to the legislative calendar takes it another step ahead.
