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Odaily News: Fox Business crypto reporter posted on platform X that Digital Chamber, Crypto Council, and Blockchain Association are urging U.S. Senate leadership to bring the Clarity Act to a full floor vote, despite the bill currently lacking the necessary support for advancement.
one year after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Clarity for Digital Assets Act (CLARITY Act), the bill remains stalled in the Senate, facing opposition from the banking industry and partisan divisions. Supporters anticipate a potential vote before the Senate's August recess. Industry organizations Coin Center and the Blockchain Association have identified Section 604 as a key provision for protecting open-source innovation. This provision aims to prevent non-custodial blockchain developers, node operators, and validators from being classified as federal money transmitters. Stefan Muehlbauer, Head of U.S. Government Affairs at CertiK, stated that removing Section 604 could conflate software development with financial services, subjecting developers to the Bank Secrecy Act and triggering First Amendment-related constitutional challenges. Iana Dimitrova, CEO of Openpayd, noted that the expanding use of stablecoins for cross-border value transfer has made the need for a federal regulatory framework more apparent. The bill also addresses accounting standards, acknowledges the rescission of SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin SAB 121, and prohibits the SEC from reimposing equivalent crypto custody accounting requirements without a full notice-and-comment rulemaking process. Mark Zalan, CEO of Gomining, pointed out that Bitcoin still faces regulatory gaps, such as tax treatment.
According to The Block, U.S. "Clarity Act" crypto legislation has entered a critical phase, with Representative William Timmons stating, "Legislation will definitely be completed; this is one of the president's priorities and also a bipartisan consensus." Senate Majority Leader John Thune hopes to complete the Senate vote before the recess on August 7, but even if passed by the Senate, the bill still needs to return to the House of Representatives for deliberation, and the overall timeline may extend into the coming months. The current main point of contention lies in the ethics clauses regarding how to restrict federal officials, such as the President, Vice President, and members of Congress, from benefiting from digital assets during their term. Trump, Republican Senators Bernie Moreno and Cynthia Lummis, along with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, held a meeting on Thursday afternoon regarding the ethics clauses, seeking Trump's endorsement. Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego stated that if the ethics clauses do not meet standards, Democrats will not vote in support. Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger is cautiously optimistic about the bill's prospects but warned that if prediction market-related amendments are included, they will become a "poison pill" and should be addressed through separate legislation.
a joint letter initiated by Stand With Crypto, in collaboration with the Blockchain Association, the Crypto Council for Innovation, and The Digital Chamber, has been submitted to U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, urging a full floor vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (the "CLARITY Act") as soon as possible.Over 200 crypto enterprises, industry associations, and community organizations, including Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken, a16z, Circle, and Binance.US, have participated in signing the letter. The joint letter points out that the CLARITY Act would establish a comprehensive federal regulatory framework for the digital asset market, clearly delineate regulatory responsibilities, provide feasible registration pathways, protect software developer innovation, and simultaneously promote the return of more digital asset businesses to the U.S. market.The signatories stated that the bill would help retain innovation, jobs, investment, and market activity within the United States, further solidifying America's leading position in the global digital asset innovation sector.It is understood that the CLARITY Act received bipartisan support and passed committee review in the Senate Banking Committee last month. Senator Cynthia Lummis subsequently stated that the next step for the bill is to enter the full Senate deliberation stage.Additionally, 160 former national security and law enforcement officials have previously signed a letter supporting the bill. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House Crypto Advisor Patrick Witt have also publicly called for advancing the legislative process. However, the issue of conflicts of interest between the Trump family and the crypto industry is still regarded as one of the main obstacles to the bill's progress. (The Block)
According to The Block, Patrick Witt, the White House’s cryptocurrency advisor, characterized the “Clarity for Digital Assets Act” as a “pro-regulation, pro-law-enforcement” bill during a virtual town hall hosted by the Blockchain Association—responding to law enforcement agencies’ concerns that the bill would weaken their ability to combat financial crime. Senator Cynthia Lummis warned that if the bill fails to pass this year, it may not be revisited until 2030. The bill currently faces multiple hurdles, including disputes over its anti-money laundering (AML) provisions, uncertainty regarding whether the “Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act” (BRCA) would exempt non-custodial developers from money transmission obligations, and unresolved conflicts of interest tied to former President Trump’s personal cryptocurrency investments. Last month, Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto voted against the bill, citing concerns that it would impede law enforcement’s ability to trace illicit funds.
According to Blockchain for Europe, the European Blockchain Association, together with Dr. Ulrich Bindseil, former Director General of Market Infrastructure and Payments at the European Central Bank, and Erwin Voloder, the Association’s Director of Research and Strategy, jointly released the report “Reforming MiCA to Support Euro Stablecoins” on April 27. The report acknowledges MiCA’s significance as a landmark regulatory framework, while also pointing out that certain design choices may place Europe in an unfavorable zone of the regulatory “Laffer curve”—overly stringent requirements could undermine the competitiveness of EU markets and drive related business activities outside the EU. To address this, the report puts forward a series of targeted, pragmatic reform proposals aimed at enabling MiCA to foster a more competitive, resilient, and globally influential euro stablecoin ecosystem. It further calls on policymakers, industry participants, and all stakeholders to actively engage in discussions to collectively advance the continuous refinement of the MiCA framework.
Bank of AI has partnered with Peking University’s Blockchain Association (PKUBlockchain) to release its inaugural research report, “Web4.0: When AI Agents Become Economic Actors—Infrastructure Gaps, Industry Landscape, and Investment Outlook,” officially published today. The report systematically outlines infrastructure gaps across three layers: the x402 payment protocol, the ERC-8004 identity standard, and the MCP tool-calling protocol. It further analyzes how Bank of AI integrates five core components into a one-stop Agent Financial Operating System—a representative case bridging protocols to real-world products. The report notes that TRON’s blockchain supports over $22 billion in daily transaction volume and $86 billion in circulating USDT, providing a scalable foundation for AI Agents’ high-frequency micro-settlements. Both parties will continue advancing the synergistic development of Web4.0 infrastructure and the agent-driven economy.