Why banks and offshore hubs like Dubai are winners of the Senate killing the Clarity Act
One expert believes that the failure to pass the bill is a win for the banks that staunchly oppose stablecoin yields, while a global crypto lawyer believes overseas jurisdictions benefit.
U.S. banks and overseas crypto hubs such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) stand to benefit after the Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act last week, according to lawyers and industry experts.
The Clarity Act’s 49-50 Senate cloture vote means the crypto industry will not get the federal market structure framework it had sought. Instead, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will continue to shape policy through existing rules, interpretations and exemptions.
The legislative battle over the bills was not only about crypto oversight, but it also exposed a struggle over whether stablecoin platforms could offer rewards that might compete with bank deposits, as well as ethical considerations for people in government.
Soon after, the CFTC sent crypto rules to the White House for review. The agency submitted a new proposal; the details were not disclosed. For now, which crypto assets it contemplates, what exchanges would need to do to qualify for licenses, what restrictions would apply and how far the agency believes its authority extends, remains unclear. All the meanwhile, the “Clarity Act is dead, at least for now,” Jesse Hamilton, CoinDesk’s deputy managing editor in charge of global policy and regulation, wrote in an analysis that explains what very few appear to know: what the Clarity Act actually is.