Michael Saylor, founder and chair of MicroStrategy, has argued that Congress's blockage of the Clarity Act represents a win for the cryptocurrency industry.
The Senate voted 49-50 against advancing the legislation this week, falling short of the support needed to move forward. The bill aimed to formally divide regulatory oversight of digital assets, clarifying which would be classified as securities, commodities, or stablecoins.
In a post on X, Saylor stated that legislation can establish restrictions as easily as it creates rights, suggesting that passing flawed rules could lock in unfavorable terms. Instead, he argued that regulators should be allowed to develop rules independently.
"We have an administration willing to modernize financial markets. We should use the next two years to put better financial products into people's hands," Saylor wrote. "Let the Digital Assets industry innovate rapidly in a free market and create the greatest possible value for the U.S. and global economy."
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are continuing rulemaking efforts without congressional action. The SEC has already granted conditional relief for onchain trading of certain tokenized stocks, and the CFTC chair has signaled willingness to proceed with regulation independent of the bill.
Saylor also contended that specific provisions in the Clarity Act, such as restrictions on paying customers for holding payment stablecoins, would not benefit the industry regardless.
The digital asset industry had widely supported the legislation after regulators during the Biden administration imposed fines on companies for allegedly selling unregistered securities. President Trump urged lawmakers to pass the bill last month, contributing to market activity in the sector.
