Key Insights
- The timeline of the CLARITY Act has stood despite the frustration and complexity of regulations in the industry.
- According to Coinbase, market structure regulations require additional consideration than stablecoin regulations.
- Regulatory delays are associated with outflows as companies grow beyond crypto products.
CLARITY Act Advances as Coinbase Executive Signals Regulatory Momentum and Market Impact
According to recent remarks made by Coinbase leadership, the CLARITY Act remains on schedule in the U.S. legislative process, despite growing impatience within the cryptocurrency industry.
The market structure legislation is now a major area of concern among digital asset companies, regulators, and investors, as it seeks to provide further clarification on how cryptocurrencies and related products are regulated in the United States.
In a CNBC interview on Friday, John D’Agostino, the head of strategy at Coinbase Institutional, raised concerns about the rate of progress. According to him, the CLARITY Act is the first layer of legislation governing digital assets and the broader financial markets, which are inherently more complex than any earlier legislation related to cryptocurrency.
According to D’Agostino, this complexity explains why the bill has taken longer to advance compared with other recent legislative efforts.
CLARITY Act Compared With Stablecoin Legislation
D’Agostino compared the CLARITY Act to the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin-centralized bill, which was signed into U.S. law in July. Even though he designed the GENIUS Act to be transformative, he observed that it contained greater specific regulatory issues.
Comparatively, the CLARITY Act aims to establish a more detailed structure for the crypto market, encompassing a broader scope of activities and participants.
The discrepancy explains why policymakers have been more cautious in adopting the proposed rules.
Market structure legislation affects exchanges, custodians, issuers, and intermediaries across the digital asset ecosystem, increasing the technical and legal considerations involved in drafting and reviewing the bill.
Momentum around the CLARITY Act gained further attention in December when David Sacks, the White House’s AI and crypto policy lead, indicated that the legislation could receive approval as early as January.
In a statement on Dec. 19, Sacks said the administration was close to completing what he described as landmark crypto market structure legislation aligned with President Donald Trump’s policy agenda.
Global Regulatory Pressure and Talent Migration
D’Agostino also cited international regulatory developments as a contributing factor to the influence of lawmakers in the U.S. He referred to the European Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework and the current regulatory developments in the United Arab Emirates as instances of jurisdictions that provide more transparent regulations for digital asset firms.
According to him, these developments have led to the migration of crypto-related talent out of the United States.
He observed that the issue of talent loss contributed to the rush to pass legislation on stablecoin earlier in the year.
The same pressure, he stated, would enable the fast-tracking of the CLARITY Act once Congress returns and legislators review the broader competitive landscape of new technologies, such as blockchain and artificial intelligence.
Market Response to Regulatory Delays
Delays in advancing the CLARITY Act have already been linked to market activity. CoinShares reported that crypto investment products experienced approximately $952 million in outflows during the week ending Dec. 19.
The firm attributed the withdrawals in part to ongoing regulatory uncertainty surrounding U.S. market structure rules.
The legislation may not have the immediate impact on asset prices that all market players anticipated. Peter Brandt, a veteran trader, stated that the potential enactment of the CLARITY Act would not have a significant impact on the price of Bitcoin in the short and medium terms, suggesting that other market forces remain more significant in determining the price.
A More Strategic Shift at Coinbase
Regulatory trends are emerging, and Coinbase’s strategies are evolving. Recently, Coinbase Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong noted that the firm intends to adopt a strategy of becoming an everything exchange by 2026.
The approach would expand Coinbase’s offerings beyond cryptocurrencies to include equities, commodities, and prediction markets across spot, futures, and options trading.
In a post on X, Armstrong outlined three priorities for the expansion: building a global multi-asset exchange, scaling stablecoins and payment infrastructure, and increasing onchain participation through Coinbase’s developer tools, Base blockchain, and consumer applications.
He stated that the objective is to position Coinbase as a comprehensive financial platform.
Coinbase has already taken steps toward this strategy. In late 2025, the exchange entered the prediction markets sector through a partnership with Kalshi, a platform regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Moreover, screenshots leaked in November showed a Coinbase-branded interface allowing trading in event-based contracts using USDC or U.S. dollars.
Competitive Landscape and Tokenized Equities
In addition to prediction markets, Coinbase will launch tokenized securities in-house, rather than outsourcing them to third parties. This contrasts with other similar competitors, such as Robinhood and Kraken, which have partnered with other companies to offer stock tokens in specific areas.
According to the rwa.xyz data, the monthly volume of tokenized equities transfers has grown by approximately 76% over the last 30 days, reaching approximately $2.46 billion.
The expansion is indicative of wider experimentation throughout the sector since companies consider how to transfer traditional financial assets to blockchain-based systems.
Other companies are also expanding in related areas. Gemini recently received CFTC approval to launch its Gemini Titan prediction platform for U.S. customers.
