Coinbase and Grayscale say U.S. crypto regulatory rules will be advanced and CLARITY bill is not nec

Coinbase and Grayscale: U.S. cryptocurrency regulation no longer relies on a single bill

Coinbase and Grayscale stated that progress in U.S. cryptocurrency regulation no longer depends on whether Congress passes a single bill. According to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Grayscale research director Zach Pandl, regardless of the fate of the CLARITY Act in the Senate, regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are already laying the foundation for a federal crypto framework.

The Senate is about to hold a procedural vote on the CLARITY Act

The Senate is preparing to vote on September 15 against H.R. Bill 3633, or the CLARITY Act, takes a procedural vote to determine whether to advance debate on the bill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has scheduled a cloture vote at 2:15 p.m. EST, which requires 60 votes to move forward.

The House of Representatives passed the bill by a vote of 294 to 134 in July 2025, with 78 Democratic members voting in favor of it. The Republican Party currently has 53 seats in the Senate. If the party's position is consistent, the support of Democratic or independent lawmakers is needed to reach the required threshold of votes.

Armstrong told CNBC that he had some Senate support for the measure, although negotiations on several provisions were still ongoing. The latest Senate version released on September 10 is 630 pages long and further details issues such as the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) agreement, compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act, credit union supervision, and other DeFi-related rules.

Senator Cynthia Lummis explained that more than 114 provisions proposed by Democratic lawmakers were included in the negotiations. Still, significant differences remain on cryptocurrencies held by government officials, incentives related to stablecoins, investor protection, anti-illegal financing measures, and broader financial stability.

Regulators take parallel action

Armstrong and Pandl believe that even if procedural votes fail, regulatory development will continue through institutional action. They believe that the SEC and CFTC are building regulatory frameworks within existing authority to shape the industry landscape, and that congressional action, while likely to bring greater stability and sustainability, is not the only path.

Recent developments support this view. The GENIUS Act, passed in July 2025, established a federal structure for payment stablecoins. In March 2026, the SEC issued explanatory documents classifying various crypto assets into categories such as digital commodities, stablecoins, digital securities and collectibles. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and XRP are classified as digital commodities.

In addition, the SEC proposed the "Regulation Crypto Assets" in August to provide tailor-made fundraising exemptions for certain investment contracts linked to crypto assets. One of the proposed exemptions allows eligible fundraising of up to $75 million over 12 months.

Meanwhile, the CFTC launched a perpetual contract framework in May and approved Bitcoin perpetual products traded on registered exchanges. These initiatives demonstrate that an evolving regulatory approach is reshaping the digital asset landscape.

Pandl highlighted ongoing policy trends, including regulations on new stablecoins, token classification, securities issuance, and cryptocurrency derivatives. He noted that these steps demonstrate that regulatory clarity is gradually advancing beyond the broader congressional legislative process.

Legislation is still seen as key to market structure

While institutional interpretations provide direction, advocates of federal legislation believe that statutory clarity will establish lasting boundaries that will make them difficult to be changed by changes in administration. The CLARITY Act aims to clarify the division of jurisdiction between the SEC and the CFTC, fill a regulatory gap for digital commodities in the spot market, and set up registration procedures for exchanges, brokers and dealers.

Traditional financial institutions have also responded to these changes. Nasdaq Ventures recently agreed to invest $100 million in Payward (Kraken's parent company) to expand cooperation in tokenized stocks. This trend reflects how Wall Street is embracing the Web3 platform with tokenized real-world asset and direct wallet management solutions. Investors can now hold tokenized shares in major U.S. companies, gold and silver through specific platforms, deposit them directly into their crypto wallets, and bypass the intermediation process by automatically accessing market prices.

The upcoming Senate vote will measure whether Congress can turn regulatory momentum into law. Still, Coinbase and Grayscale believe that the push for the new framework will continue as the SEC and CFTC initiatives steadily advance digital asset regulation in the United States.