News linked to both this project and an event.
According to The Block, Jaret Seiberg, Managing Director of the Washington Research Group at investment bank TD Cowen, stated that stablecoin yield issues are not the sole obstacle to the passage of the Clarity Act—and cited the following five additional hurdles: 1. A severe shortage of Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) commissioners: only Chairman Michael Selig remains in office, and the process to appoint new commissioners could take several months, while the bill must complete its review by the end of July; 2. Complex regulatory questions surrounding prediction markets—including concerns about insider trading and potential conflicts of interest involving the Trump family—which may prompt Democratic lawmakers to withdraw their support via related amendments; 3. Ongoing controversy surrounding World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency project affiliated with the Trump family, increasing political resistance from Democrats toward supporting the bill; 4. Reports indicating Iran is discussing requiring vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to pay tolls in cryptocurrency—a development that could trigger contentious anti-money laundering (AML) amendments, potentially serving as a “poison pill” for the bill; 5. Risk that the Credit Card Competition Act could be attached to the Clarity Act, jeopardizing the entire bill’s progress. Regarding stablecoin yield issues, Senator Thom Tillis indicated that the Senate Banking Committee will not vote on the bill until as early as May. TD Cowen maintains its assessment that the bill has approximately a one-in-three chance of passing this year, while Galaxy Digital estimates the probability at roughly 50%.
Odaily News Investment bank TD Cowen stated that disagreements surrounding the "CLARITY Act" extend far beyond the issue of stablecoin revenue, with multiple practical obstacles potentially slowing down the legislative process.First, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is understaffed, currently with only one commissioner in office. Under these circumstances, Congress is unlikely to confidently assign more cryptocurrency regulatory responsibilities to the agency, and filling the personnel vacancies alone would require several months.Second, the issue of prediction markets is heating up. Whether to include them under the bill's regulatory scope, along with potential concerns about insider trading and political conflicts of interest (including controversies related to Trump-affiliated projects), could cause some Democratic lawmakers to oppose the bill.Simultaneously, the ongoing controversy surrounding the Trump family's crypto project, World Liberty Financial, is also increasing the bill's political sensitivity, making bipartisan consensus more difficult to achieve.Geopolitics has also become a variable. Discussions regarding Iran's potential use of cryptocurrency payments are intensifying focus on anti-money laundering provisions and could even lead to the introduction of amendments unfavorable to the industry.Furthermore, some lawmakers are attempting to incorporate the "Credit Card Competition Act" into the bill. If pursued, this could trigger new conflicts of interest, further impeding the overall legislative progress.
In his response, Witkoff clarified the following points one by one: First, WLFI has absolutely no connection with the TRUMP meme coin—these two should not be conflated. Second, WLFI is unrelated to “fight fight fight” or CIC Digital. Third, early WLFI holders purchased the token at prices of $0.015 and $0.05, respectively; its current price stands at $0.08. Fourth, WLFI’s core product is not transaction fees, but rather the stablecoin USD1, which generates yield by holding U.S. Treasury securities. By both trading volume and market capitalization, USD1 is currently the world’s second-largest compliant stablecoin.