U.S. lawmakers also considered the Bitcoin Act, which proposes a national Bitcoin reserve of one million BTC.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong called the Digital Asset Market Clarity a freight train following his meetings with lawmakers in Washington. He revealed that lawmakers have strong bipartisan support for the bill.
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act defines the roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and other financial agencies in regulating digital assets, especially those outside the scope of stablecoins. Armstrong said he has never been more confident about the bill’s passage, arguing that the measure is essential to keeping the crypto industry rooted in the U.S. He said its passage will prevent a regulatory overreach witnessed under the ruling of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
Armstrong said the Senate strongly supported the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, with bipartisan support. The legislation is expected to be released to the public soon for feedback. The bill passed in the U.S House of Representatives in July alongside the GENIUS Act and the Anti-CBD Surveillance State Act. Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, while the other two remain under Senate review.
Sen. Cythia Lummis, speaking at an event in Jackson Hole last month, said that the Clarity Act bill will reach the President’s desk before the end of the year. She said that the Republican goal is to pass a market structure bill at the Senate Banking Committee by the end of the year. This would be followed by considerations from the Senate Agriculture Committee in October. Both Committees would address U.S. financial regulators and how the SEC handles digital assets.
Washington’s discussion included executives from Ripple, Kraken, Circle, Cardano, and venture capital firms such as Paradigm, a16z, and Multicoin Capital. Arjun Sethi, Kraken’s CEO, revealed that his focus is to ensure that crypto industry developers are prioritized. He emphasized the need to protect the ability to develop protocols, chains, tokenized equities, and other assets in a way that benefits the innovators.
Armstrong also highlighted the unsuccessful attempts to prevent stablecoin competition from the banking sector. He cited lobbying efforts to ban interest-bearing stablecoins under the GENIUS Act, which later failed. He urged the lawmakers never to allow similar measures to destroy innovation.
The Bitcoin Act, sponsored by Sen. Lummis, was brought into subject during the discussions in Washington. The bill seeks to establish a national reserve of 1 million BTC accumulation within five years via budget-neutral methods such as reassessing Treasury gold certificates and reallocating tariff revenues. Several Bitcoin advocates, including Strategy’s Michael Saylor, attended the meeting.
The Clarity Act developments follow the recent EU’s imposition of anti-money laundering rules on crypto firms, requiring them to collect and retain user data for regulatory purposes. Conversely, Russia legalized Bitcoin mining and allowed its use in international trade in 2024.
Altcoins surged after the passage of the three bills in the House of Representatives in July, including Solana, Ethereum, XRP, and Cardano. The total market cap of crypto assets crossed $4 trillion. Cryptopolitan recently reported on altcoins’ surge in August, with Ethereum reaching a new all-time high of $4,885. Ethereum ecosystem tokens such as Arbitrum, Aave, and Ethena increased by over 20%.
Solana ecosystem meme coins such as Fartcoin, Pudgy Penguins, and SPX6900 also recorded high momentum. Large-cap coins such as Solana and Dogecoin recorded net gains above 10%, as small-cap demand grew, fueled by Bitcoin Hyper (HYPER), a layer two project that raised $11 million in presale.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong highlighted that the legislative process is moving faster than ever, warning companies to prepare for rapid regulatory changes. According to him, the Clarity Act could shape the future of crypto innovation in the U.S.
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