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Clarity is an advanced DAO contribution platform. It enables users to share task boards and documents, manage access with tokens, receive bounty payouts, and build contributor reputation.
Voluntary inclusion in unified federal oversight: CFTC advances Reg CAM crypto asset market framework
Odaily reports: Michael Passalacqua, Senior Counsel to CFTC Chairman Mike Selig and head of the Innovation Working Group, introduced that after the Clarity Act stalled, the CFTC's Reg CAM, or "crypto asset market" framework, aims to provide crypto asset trading platforms with a path to voluntarily opt into CFTC-led unified national regulation. The arrangement is mainly targeted at platforms offering retail customers leveraged, margin, or financed trading, enabling them to escape the patchwork regulatory landscape of state money transmission licenses; pure spot trading without leverage generally remains outside this mandatory framework. Passalacqua said the rulemaking is currently in the public comment phase, and whether the industry finds the proposal attractive remains undetermined.
Non-binding: Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti says SEC crypto FAQ is for reference only
former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti pointed out that the SEC's crypto asset FAQ, published on September 25 and updated on September 28, is merely non-binding staff guidance that can serve as a reference but is not a "protective charm." The FAQ, issued by the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance, addresses topics including staking receipt tokens, decentralized network buyback programs, and how marketing communications fit into the Howey test, but it does not name any specific assets or protocols and only provides principle-based statements. Mariotti stated that the FAQ only reflects the views of SEC staff, has not been formally approved by the Commission, and carries no legal force; since the rule proposed on August 18 has not yet been finalized and the Clarity Act is stalled in Congress, industry participants still need to rely on staff commentary to make their own judgments regarding disclosure and token design.
Bernstein: CLARITY Act Failure May Instead Accelerate Regulatory Implementation
According to Cointelegraph, the U.S. Senate failed to advance a procedural vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act) on Tuesday. Bernstein analysts anticipate that the SEC and CFTC will subsequently embark on "proactive and swift" rulemaking to compensate for the time lost during prior negotiations. The forthcoming regulations are expected to cover: classification criteria for token offerings, developer protections for DeFi and self-custody protocols, innovation exemptions for equity tokenization, an expedited approval pathway for physical asset perpetual futures, and swap designation rules for federal sports event contracts. Bernstein pointed out that the CLARITY Act was originally intended to provide the industry with institutional safeguards against "shifts in political winds," and its defeat has once again cast doubt on regulatory certainty. Analysts also noted that the likelihood of a reconsidered vote on the bill remains low.
CLARITY Act Procedural Vote Fails; Bernstein Expects SEC, CFTC to Accelerate Rulemaking
Bernstein analysts said that after the U.S. Senate failed to pass the procedural vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are expected to accelerate the development of digital asset regulatory rules.The analysts expect the new rules to cover the classification of fundraising tokens, protections for DeFi and self-custody protocol developers, innovation exemptions for equity tokenization, approval of real-world asset perpetual futures, and adjustments to swap classification rules for federal sports event contracts. (Cointelegraph)
Senator Elizabeth Warren: Supports crypto legislation, but the current Clarity Act is not enough
Odaily News: U.S. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren stated that she still hopes to push a crypto regulatory bill into law, but does not support the current version of the Clarity Act.Warren said the Clarity Act is Washington's first opportunity to achieve "meaningful crypto regulation," but any bill must include several core elements: regulating public officials' crypto investments, protecting national security and consumers, and strengthening the fight against illicit finance and terrorist financing.Her stance could become more critical next year. If Democrats regain control of the Senate after the November election, Warren could become chair of the Senate Banking Committee, one of the key bodies for digital asset regulatory legislation. The article notes that Kalshi prediction markets currently show a 52% probability of Democrats retaking the Senate.When asked whether she would lead crypto legislation if she headed the Banking Committee, Warren said she would be willing. She said she is willing to sit down with Democrats, Republicans, and the industry to craft a crypto bill that protects national security, protects the economy, and reduces corruption.
SEC Proposes New Crypto Rules: Establishing a Token Investment Contract Safe Harbor with Offering Cap of Up to $75 Million
Odaily News: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed rules related to crypto assets, aiming to establish a clear framework for eligible investment contracts and provide a targeted securities offering regime for token issuances, enabling related entities to raise funds while retaining investor protection measures. The proposed rules would allow crypto companies to issue up to $5 million in tokens over four years, or up to $75 million in tokens within 12 months, and provide a safe harbor to prevent cryptocurrencies from being deemed "investment contracts." Issuers would be required to disclose financial statements and provide ongoing reporting. The SEC did not include the previously anticipated "innovation exemption" for crypto stocks. The proposal comes just days after the U.S. Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act; the public will have 60 days to submit comments after the proposal is published in the Federal Register. SEC Chair Paul Atkins stated that congressional legislation remains essential for establishing rules that can be applied over the long term, and the SEC will continue to support Congress in advancing the CLARITY Act to President Trump. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) plans to discuss cryptocurrency, AI, and prediction market regulation on Thursday. (Cointelegraph)
Over $200 Million: Crypto-Related Organizations Gear Up for the 2026 U.S. Midterm Elections
Odaily reports: Data from Public Citizen shows that crypto-related organizations have donated over $200 million in the current U.S. election cycle, seeking to influence the 2026 U.S. midterm elections and push Congress to pass industry-friendly regulatory rules. One of the industry's current priority goals is to advance comprehensive digital asset market structure legislation after the Clarity Act stalled. Fairshake and its affiliated super PACs are backing 33 House candidates, including 19 Republicans and 14 Democrats; Coinbase and Ripple each donated $25 million to Fairshake's midterm election efforts in 2025. The Ohio Senate race is a key battleground. Fairshake said it has spent $55 million this election cycle to oppose Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown, a longtime critic of the crypto industry; his opponent is crypto-friendly Republican incumbent Senator Jon Husted. Stand With Crypto, an advocacy group launched by Coinbase, has endorsed 45 candidates, including 42 House candidates and 3 Senate candidates. The Clarity Act stalled in the Senate in September, with Democratic lawmakers arguing that the bill is insufficient to prevent senior government officials from profiting from crypto businesses. If the bill cannot move forward by the end of the year, the new Congress will need to restart market structure legislation. Coinbase Vice President Ryan VanGrack said that regardless of who is elected, the industry will still gain more regulatory clarity, but whether legislation can ultimately be completed remains uncertain.
U.S. Chamber of Digital Commerce Writes to Congress, Urging Legislation to Authorize CFTC Regulation of Crypto Exchanges
The U.S. Digital Chamber of Commerce urges Congress to pass standalone legislation before adjourning, granting the CFTC regulatory authority over crypto exchanges and strengthening the segregation of client funds; Lummis states that the Clarity Act provides legal backing for freezing suspicious transactions.
JPMorgan: Regulatory measures can partially offset the impact of the stalled Clarity Act, but political and legal risks remain.
According to The Block, JPMorgan analysts including Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou stated in Wednesday's report that recent actions by U.S. regulators are partially offsetting the adverse impact of the Senate's failure to advance the Clarity Act, but until a crypto market structure bill is enacted, the political and legal risk premium will persist. Analysts note that regulator-driven measures could encourage institutional participation in the short term, but only legislation can ensure a more durable regulatory framework. If the Democratic Party wins the White House, existing regulatory measures could be overturned within as little as two years. The bill is unlikely to pass this year and may instead be put back on the agenda in 2027.
CFTC Seeks Comment on Retail Digital Asset Trading Framework, Proposes New "Crypto Asset Market" Exchange Category
Odaily reports: Bitcoin News posted on X stating that, with the Clarity Act stalled, regulators are crafting digital asset market rules on their own under existing authority. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sought comment on a retail digital asset trading framework, including the addition of a new "crypto asset market" exchange category, with the comment period closing on December 14; the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's comment window for its proposed Regulation Crypto Assets will close on October 20. Regulators are moving faster than Congress on rulemaking, but the rules may face court challenges or be revoked by future commissions; a durable regulatory framework still requires legislation.
Voluntary inclusion in unified federal oversight: CFTC advances Reg CAM crypto asset market framework
Odaily reports: Michael Passalacqua, Senior Counsel to CFTC Chairman Mike Selig and head of the Innovation Working Group, introduced that after the Clarity Act stalled, the CFTC's Reg CAM, or "crypto asset market" framework, aims to provide crypto asset trading platforms with a path to voluntarily opt into CFTC-led unified national regulation. The arrangement is mainly targeted at platforms offering retail customers leveraged, margin, or financed trading, enabling them to escape the patchwork regulatory landscape of state money transmission licenses; pure spot trading without leverage generally remains outside this mandatory framework. Passalacqua said the rulemaking is currently in the public comment phase, and whether the industry finds the proposal attractive remains undetermined.
After CLARITY Act Fails, SEC Chair Atkins Still Pushes for Comprehensive Crypto Regulation
U.S. SEC Chair Paul Atkins stated that despite setbacks in the U.S. legislative process and leadership changes, the SEC will continue to advance a comprehensive crypto market structure. Previously, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act failed to clear the Senate's 60-vote procedural threshold on September 15, shifting the policy focus to federal regulators using existing authorities to provide regulatory clarity. During Atkins' tenure, the SEC announced interim regulatory exemptions in September to ease certain tokenized stock trading; Patrick Witt, executive director of the White House crypto council, departed, having previously participated in CLARITY Act negotiations.
JPMorgan: Regulatory measures can partially offset the impact of the stalled Clarity Act, but political and legal risks remain.
According to The Block, JPMorgan analysts including Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou stated in Wednesday's report that recent actions by U.S. regulators are partially offsetting the adverse impact of the Senate's failure to advance the Clarity Act, but until a crypto market structure bill is enacted, the political and legal risk premium will persist. Analysts note that regulator-driven measures could encourage institutional participation in the short term, but only legislation can ensure a more durable regulatory framework. If the Democratic Party wins the White House, existing regulatory measures could be overturned within as little as two years. The bill is unlikely to pass this year and may instead be put back on the agenda in 2027.
Despite Fed Rate Hikes and Legislative Setbacks, Bitcoin Defies Headwinds and Stabilizes
Bitcoin stabilized at the $75,000 level following the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike and the Senate's rejection of the Clarity Act, as the market had already priced in the negative developments and displayed strong resilience. Analysts expect prices to remain range-bound in the near term.
Bernstein: CLARITY Act Failure May Instead Accelerate Regulatory Implementation
According to Cointelegraph, the U.S. Senate failed to advance a procedural vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act) on Tuesday. Bernstein analysts anticipate that the SEC and CFTC will subsequently embark on "proactive and swift" rulemaking to compensate for the time lost during prior negotiations. The forthcoming regulations are expected to cover: classification criteria for token offerings, developer protections for DeFi and self-custody protocols, innovation exemptions for equity tokenization, an expedited approval pathway for physical asset perpetual futures, and swap designation rules for federal sports event contracts. Bernstein pointed out that the CLARITY Act was originally intended to provide the industry with institutional safeguards against "shifts in political winds," and its defeat has once again cast doubt on regulatory certainty. Analysts also noted that the likelihood of a reconsidered vote on the bill remains low.
CLARITY Act Procedural Vote Fails; Bernstein Expects SEC, CFTC to Accelerate Rulemaking
Bernstein analysts said that after the U.S. Senate failed to pass the procedural vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are expected to accelerate the development of digital asset regulatory rules.The analysts expect the new rules to cover the classification of fundraising tokens, protections for DeFi and self-custody protocol developers, innovation exemptions for equity tokenization, approval of real-world asset perpetual futures, and adjustments to swap classification rules for federal sports event contracts. (Cointelegraph)
Bernstein: Progress on the CLEAR Act exceeds market expectations, with any positive surprises remaining unpriced.
According to The Block, Bernstein analysts indicated that Senate Republicans' progress on the Clarity Act may surpass market consensus expectations. The Republican proposal has been finalized, incorporating 126 substantive amendments put forward by Democrats. President Trump has also endorsed most measures within the bipartisan ethics framework, including granting enforcement authority to state attorneys general. Bernstein pointed out that the crypto market currently holds a pessimistic view toward Tuesday’s procedural vote, with "any upside surprises not yet priced in." The probability of the bill's passage on prediction market platform Kalshi has climbed back above 30%. Analysts cautioned that a failure to pass the legislation, combined with hawkish remarks from the Federal Reserve, could trigger a "significant pullback" in markets. However, even if the bill fails, it will accelerate SEC and CFTC crypto regulatory rulemaking rather than derail broader regulatory efforts.
Bernstein analysts assign Circle an “Outperform” rating with a $140 price target
Odaily News: Bernstein analysts have assigned Circle an “Outperform” rating with a price target of $140, noting that its growth cycle does not depend on the progress of the Clarity Act. The analysts pointed out that USDC supply grew by $1.7 billion over the past week, and the stablecoin trading volume market share continues to expand. (The Block)
Senator Lummis accuses the Democratic Party of vetoing the offshore money laundering oversight bill.
Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) posted that the U.S. Senate voted on the "Clarity Act," which aims to empower the Treasury Department to cut off money laundering activities conducted through offshore exchanges such as Binance. Lummis accused Democrats of voting against the bill, claiming they are unwilling to protect American citizens from the threat of offshore money laundering. Critics, however, pushed back, citing constitutional concerns and a corruption loophole targeting the current president as reasons for its defeat.
US House Ways and Means Committee Schedules September 16 Markup of Cryptocurrency Tax Rules
The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to hold a markup on September 16 of a series of digital asset tax bills, moving crypto tax legislation toward a full House vote. The markup focuses on two core issues: when miners and stakers should be taxed on newly created tokens, and whether wash sale rules applicable to stocks should extend to digital assets.The two key bills are the "Mining and Staking Tax Clarity Act" H.R. 9175 and the "Applying Existing Tax Anti-Abuse Rules to Digital Assets Act" H.R. 9172. The former provides that miners and stakers need not pay tax immediately upon receiving new tokens, and can instead pay tax as ordinary income when the tokens are actually sold; the latter extends wash sale and constructive sale rules to actively traded digital assets, closing a tax loophole that crypto traders have exploited for years.
Blockchain Association Refutes Wall Street Journal: Clarity Act Is Pro-Innovation Legislation Promoting Competition, Not A Regulatory Loophole
Mersinger pointed out that the bill explicitly prohibits the portion of stablecoin holding rewards equivalent to bank deposit interest, but allows reward mechanisms based on user activity, consistent with the credit card points model; regarding DeFi regulation, Section 10301 of the bill requires the SEC to establish rules for protocols that are "nominally decentralized, substantially controllable," rather than exempting them, while Section 10201 has incorporated digital commodity brokers into the full reporting obligations under the "Bank Secrecy Act" and allocated $3 billion to support state-level enforcement, contrary to the "Wall Street Journal"'s claim of "inadequate regulation of illicit finance."
The S&P 500 added $2.1 trillion in market cap in a single month, approximately equal to the total market cap of the entire crypto market.
According to CoinDesk, the S&P 500 index has risen 3.12% this month, adding approximately $2.1 trillion in market value (equivalent to the total market cap of the entire crypto market), reaching a record high total market cap of $70.5 trillion, but Bitcoin has only risen about 2% this month, hovering near $64,600. Analysts point out that this round of stock market rise is mainly driven by AI and semiconductor individual stock narratives, rather than a broad-based recovery in risk appetite at the macro level, and Bitcoin lacks direct beneficial exposure to this. Meanwhile, the crypto market also faces multiple internal pressures: the Coldcard platform suffered a $120 million exploit, the prospects of the "Clarity Act" remain uncertain, MicroStrategy has reduced its BTC holdings for three consecutive months, and stablecoin supply continues to shrink—USDT's market cap dropped from $190 billion in April to $183 billion, and USDC's dropped from $79.5 billion to $72 billion.
Trump’s Financial Disclosures Fuel Crypto Ethics Controversy; Democrats Demand Inclusion of Restrictive Clauses
U.S. President Trump’s newly released 927-page financial disclosure document reveals income including hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto-related earnings. Among these are millions of dollars in revenue linked to World Liberty Financial, the DeFi project launched by the Trump family in 2024. This disclosure has heightened the urgency of congressional negotiations over ethics provisions within the Clarity Act, the crypto market structure bill.Currently, bipartisan lawmakers are negotiating the Clarity Act, which aims to establish the first comprehensive federal crypto regulatory framework in the United States. A key focus of the negotiations is whether to include ethics restrictions preventing the President, Vice President, members of Congress, and other federal officials from profiting from digital assets while in office.Following the document's release, Democratic lawmakers reiterated that the bill must contain strict ethics clauses. Senator Angela Alsobrooks stated that such restrictions should apply to the President, Vice President, and all members of Congress. She noted that ordinary Americans should benefit from digital assets in a fair and honest manner, rather than allowing political figures to profit through corruption and institutional loopholes.Senator Kirsten Gillibrand also indicated that both parties are still advancing stringent ethics reforms, proposing to prohibit the President, Vice President, and lawmakers from using crypto assets for personal gain. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren argued that if the Clarity Act fails to prevent the President, members of Congress, and their families from profiting from the crypto industry, the bill would further fuel controversies surrounding Trump-related crypto corruption.Republicans, for their part, stated that ethics clauses remain part of the bipartisan negotiations. With the July window for advancing the Clarity Act approaching, the disclosure of Trump family crypto income could become a key variable influencing the final text of the bill and the level of Democratic support.
Multiple law enforcement agencies jointly oppose key provisions of the Clarity Act; negotiations continue
According to Crypto in America, the National District Attorneys Association, the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the National Sheriffs’ Association jointly sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the White House Crypto Council, expressing strong opposition to Section 604 of the “Clarity Act”—the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA). Law enforcement groups argue that this provision could create regulatory loopholes exploitable by criminals for illicit activities including drug trafficking, fraud, child exploitation, sanctions evasion, and terrorist financing. Meanwhile, cryptocurrency-backed candidates achieved sweeping victories in primary elections across Maryland, New York, and Utah. Fairshake—a pro-crypto super PAC—has collectively spent over $7.6 million supporting these candidates, including $5.5 million backing Adrian Boafo, the candidate for Maryland’s 5th congressional district. Miller Whitehouse-Levine, founder of the Solana Policy Institute, warned that August 7, 2026, may be the final window for Congress to pass cryptocurrency market structure legislation. He stated that the industry is willing to make limited revisions to the BRCA provisions to address law enforcement concerns—but firmly opposes any fundamental changes that would weaken the core protections enshrined in the provision. Additionally, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on “The Future of Payments” the same day.
Over $200 Million: Crypto-Related Organizations Gear Up for the 2026 U.S. Midterm Elections
Odaily reports: Data from Public Citizen shows that crypto-related organizations have donated over $200 million in the current U.S. election cycle, seeking to influence the 2026 U.S. midterm elections and push Congress to pass industry-friendly regulatory rules. One of the industry's current priority goals is to advance comprehensive digital asset market structure legislation after the Clarity Act stalled. Fairshake and its affiliated super PACs are backing 33 House candidates, including 19 Republicans and 14 Democrats; Coinbase and Ripple each donated $25 million to Fairshake's midterm election efforts in 2025. The Ohio Senate race is a key battleground. Fairshake said it has spent $55 million this election cycle to oppose Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown, a longtime critic of the crypto industry; his opponent is crypto-friendly Republican incumbent Senator Jon Husted. Stand With Crypto, an advocacy group launched by Coinbase, has endorsed 45 candidates, including 42 House candidates and 3 Senate candidates. The Clarity Act stalled in the Senate in September, with Democratic lawmakers arguing that the bill is insufficient to prevent senior government officials from profiting from crypto businesses. If the bill cannot move forward by the end of the year, the new Congress will need to restart market structure legislation. Coinbase Vice President Ryan VanGrack said that regardless of who is elected, the industry will still gain more regulatory clarity, but whether legislation can ultimately be completed remains uncertain.
Blockchain Association Sends Letter to Bipartisan Congressional Leaders, Pushing for Tax Exemption on Small Crypto Transactions and Tax Clarity
The Blockchain Association has sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, urging both parties to develop a digital asset tax framework, and has launched taxclarityforamerica.com to help users contact their lawmakers. The association's core demands include: establishing a substantive tax exemption threshold for small crypto transactions so that everyday low-value purchases are not subject to the same tax treatment as investment sales; treating qualifying stablecoins more like cash for tax purposes; and treating mining and staking rewards as "self-created property," taxed upon disposition rather than upon receipt.
Fairshake-affiliated PACs spend $2.7 million to support 2026 House candidates
Odaily News: Fairshake-affiliated entities Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress have spent a combined $2.7 million to support Democratic and Republican candidates running for U.S. House seats in 2026. The spending comes 22 days before the U.S. midterm elections.The expenditures include over $76,000 in supportive advertising for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and $73,000 for House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson; California Representative Pete Aguilar and New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer received $512,000 and $500,000 in support, respectively.Fairshake announced days ago that it plans to support 32 additional House candidates in 2026, with 6 of them each receiving $1 million in supportive media placements. As of August, Fairshake held $122 million in cash and planned to allocate at least $30 million in media spending to oppose Sherrod Brown's run for the Ohio Senate seat.All of the aforementioned candidates voted in 2025 to support the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act). The bill aims to establish market structure rules for cryptocurrencies and expand the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) regulatory enforcement authority, but it failed a Senate procedural vote in September. (Cointelegraph)
Non-binding: Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti says SEC crypto FAQ is for reference only
former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti pointed out that the SEC's crypto asset FAQ, published on September 25 and updated on September 28, is merely non-binding staff guidance that can serve as a reference but is not a "protective charm." The FAQ, issued by the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance, addresses topics including staking receipt tokens, decentralized network buyback programs, and how marketing communications fit into the Howey test, but it does not name any specific assets or protocols and only provides principle-based statements. Mariotti stated that the FAQ only reflects the views of SEC staff, has not been formally approved by the Commission, and carries no legal force; since the rule proposed on August 18 has not yet been finalized and the Clarity Act is stalled in Congress, industry participants still need to rely on staff commentary to make their own judgments regarding disclosure and token design.
Crypto PAC Fairshake Announces Midterm Election Endorsement List, All 32 House Candidates Previously Supported the CLARITY Act
According to Cointelegraph, the crypto political action committee Fairshake, backed by Coinbase, Ripple Labs, and Andreessen Horowitz, announced it will fund 32 House candidates in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, including 19 Republicans and 13 Democrats. As an initial round, Fairshake will contribute $1 million each to the campaigns of six of these candidates, totaling $6 million. All 32 candidates previously voted in 2025 to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act). The bill had earlier failed to pass a crucial procedural vote in the Senate, and its subsequent progress remains uncertain.
Senate fails to pass Crypto Clarity Act, regulatory process faces a reset
The U.S. Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, with the retirement of key lawmakers making it impossible to revive this 635-page bill, backed by both Wall Street and the crypto industry, before the end of the year, leaving the crypto regulatory framework facing a complete reset.
Related news
Over $200 Million: Crypto-Related Organizations Gear Up for the 2026 U.S. Midterm Elections
Odaily reports: Data from Public Citizen shows that crypto-related organizations have donated over $200 million in the current U.S. election cycle, seeking to influence the 2026 U.S. midterm elections and push Congress to pass industry-friendly regulatory rules. One of the industry's current priority goals is to advance comprehensive digital asset market structure legislation after the Clarity Act stalled. Fairshake and its affiliated super PACs are backing 33 House candidates, including 19 Republicans and 14 Democrats; Coinbase and Ripple each donated $25 million to Fairshake's midterm election efforts in 2025. The Ohio Senate race is a key battleground. Fairshake said it has spent $55 million this election cycle to oppose Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown, a longtime critic of the crypto industry; his opponent is crypto-friendly Republican incumbent Senator Jon Husted. Stand With Crypto, an advocacy group launched by Coinbase, has endorsed 45 candidates, including 42 House candidates and 3 Senate candidates. The Clarity Act stalled in the Senate in September, with Democratic lawmakers arguing that the bill is insufficient to prevent senior government officials from profiting from crypto businesses. If the bill cannot move forward by the end of the year, the new Congress will need to restart market structure legislation. Coinbase Vice President Ryan VanGrack said that regardless of who is elected, the industry will still gain more regulatory clarity, but whether legislation can ultimately be completed remains uncertain.
U.S. Chamber of Digital Commerce Writes to Congress, Urging Legislation to Authorize CFTC Regulation of Crypto Exchanges
The U.S. Digital Chamber of Commerce urges Congress to pass standalone legislation before adjourning, granting the CFTC regulatory authority over crypto exchanges and strengthening the segregation of client funds; Lummis states that the Clarity Act provides legal backing for freezing suspicious transactions.
Blockchain Association Sends Letter to Bipartisan Congressional Leaders, Pushing for Tax Exemption on Small Crypto Transactions and Tax Clarity
The Blockchain Association has sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, urging both parties to develop a digital asset tax framework, and has launched taxclarityforamerica.com to help users contact their lawmakers. The association's core demands include: establishing a substantive tax exemption threshold for small crypto transactions so that everyday low-value purchases are not subject to the same tax treatment as investment sales; treating qualifying stablecoins more like cash for tax purposes; and treating mining and staking rewards as "self-created property," taxed upon disposition rather than upon receipt.
JPMorgan: Regulatory measures can partially offset the impact of the stalled Clarity Act, but political and legal risks remain.
According to The Block, JPMorgan analysts including Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou stated in Wednesday's report that recent actions by U.S. regulators are partially offsetting the adverse impact of the Senate's failure to advance the Clarity Act, but until a crypto market structure bill is enacted, the political and legal risk premium will persist. Analysts note that regulator-driven measures could encourage institutional participation in the short term, but only legislation can ensure a more durable regulatory framework. If the Democratic Party wins the White House, existing regulatory measures could be overturned within as little as two years. The bill is unlikely to pass this year and may instead be put back on the agenda in 2027.
CFTC Seeks Comment on Retail Digital Asset Trading Framework, Proposes New "Crypto Asset Market" Exchange Category
Odaily reports: Bitcoin News posted on X stating that, with the Clarity Act stalled, regulators are crafting digital asset market rules on their own under existing authority. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sought comment on a retail digital asset trading framework, including the addition of a new "crypto asset market" exchange category, with the comment period closing on December 14; the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's comment window for its proposed Regulation Crypto Assets will close on October 20. Regulators are moving faster than Congress on rulemaking, but the rules may face court challenges or be revoked by future commissions; a durable regulatory framework still requires legislation.
Voluntary inclusion in unified federal oversight: CFTC advances Reg CAM crypto asset market framework
Odaily reports: Michael Passalacqua, Senior Counsel to CFTC Chairman Mike Selig and head of the Innovation Working Group, introduced that after the Clarity Act stalled, the CFTC's Reg CAM, or "crypto asset market" framework, aims to provide crypto asset trading platforms with a path to voluntarily opt into CFTC-led unified national regulation. The arrangement is mainly targeted at platforms offering retail customers leveraged, margin, or financed trading, enabling them to escape the patchwork regulatory landscape of state money transmission licenses; pure spot trading without leverage generally remains outside this mandatory framework. Passalacqua said the rulemaking is currently in the public comment phase, and whether the industry finds the proposal attractive remains undetermined.