DISMANTLING THE POWER, INTERESTS AND TREACHERY BEHIND THE CLARTY ACT: HOW TO AVOID RISK AND DIG FOR MONEY
Written by: Changan, Teddy, Amelia, Denise I Biteye Content Team
AT THE BEGINNING OF 2026, THE EYES OF THE GLOBAL ENCRYPTED CURRENCY MARKET FOCUSED ON WASHINGTON HILL OF CONGRESS AFTER FIVE YEARS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND LAW ENFORCEMENT. THE BILL, CALLED THE CLARITY ACT, WAS INTENDED TO PROVIDE A DEGREE OF CLARITY FOR DIGITAL ASSETS LONG IN THE GREY ZONE, BUT AT THE END IT BECAME THE ULTIMATE GAME OF A NEW AND OLD FINANCIAL ORDER。
Today, we turn to this hundreds of-page bill, not to eat the law, but to find out: why did Coinbase, who was the leader in the embrace of regulation, at the last minute? How will this pile of hundreds of pages change your wallet as a family
Context of birth: the end of the law of the jungle
BEFORE THE CIA ACT, ENCRYPTION REGULATION IN THE UNITED STATES WAS LIKE AN EXTRAJUDICIAL PLACE WHERE GIANTS STRUGGLED IN CHAOS:
- TWO-HEADED HEGEMONIC CIVIL WAR: BEFORE CLARITY, THE UNITED STATES DID NOT HAVE A UNIFIED FRAMEWORK FOR ENCRYPTED ASSETS. THE SEC (THE SEC) WANTED TO USE TOKENS AS STOCK MANAGEMENT, AND THE CFTC (COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION) WANTED TOKENS AS COMMODITY MANAGEMENT. THE PROJECTOR IN THE MIDDLE WILL NEVER KNOW WHICH ONE TO KNOCK ON TOMORROW。
- The fear of “ v. Escrow & Rdquo;: In the absence of a clear law, the SEC has chosen a simple and rough path: “ prosecution first, later regulation & rdquo; and Ripple, Coinbase, for example, the Ripple case, which lasted for more than three years, directly affecting tens of billions of dollars in the market value of the XRP, which has also become a psychological shadow for the industry as a whole. This has led directly to massive brain and capital outflows to Singapore, Europe, etc。
- the anxiety of traditional banks: the stabilization currency provides an average annualized return of 4.2 per cent, far higher than the traditional bank savings rate, raising concerns about the potential loss of over $20 billion per month. to keep &ldquao; the money bag &rdquao; the banking lobby urgently needs a set of laws to trap encrypted money。
In order to put an end to the mess, this hundreds of pages of Clarity Act seeks to redefine the rules of the market:
1) CLEAR SUBJECTS OF MANAGEMENT: ASSETS THAT ARE SUFFICIENTLY DECENTRALISED AND NO LONGER DEPEND ON A SINGLE ISSUER (E.G. BITCOIN) ARE UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF CFTC. ASSETS THAT ARE AT AN EARLY STAGE AND HAVE OBVIOUS FINANCIAL ATTRIBUTES ARE REGULATED BY THE SEC。
2) Consolidation and stabilization currency framework: & ldquo will be consistent with GENIUS Act; licence to pay stabilization currency & rdquo; except for the definition of securities, CFTC/SEC monitors the use of its transactions and requires reference to GENIUS Act for issuance and reserve requirements。
End regulation of internal consumption and give the market a & ldquo; a predictable future & rdquo; That's why Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken and others, at first publicly supported Clarity。
Until the Senate version appeared。
skinhead's &ldquao; late at night &rdquao;
THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF THE CLARITY ACT WAS INTENDED TO BE CLEAR, AND IT ATTEMPTED TO REDEFINE THE RULES THROUGH THE THREE PILLARS OF ASSET CLASSIFICATION, FINANCIAL REGULATION, AND STABLE CURRENCY ACCESS. HOWEVER, IN THE JANUARY 2026 REVISION OF THE SENATE, THE WIND CHANGED DRAMATICALLY AND THE PROVISIONS BECAME EXTREMELY HARSH:
-
Prohibition of tokenization: Provisions have been included in the Senate ' s draft, which essentially limit the direct exchange of traditional financial assets (e.g. United States shares, bonds) in the public chain。
-
RWA IS EXCLUDED: THE ACT EXPLICITLY EXCLUDES RWA FROM DIGITAL GOODS, WHICH MEANS THAT THEY WILL BE SUBJECT TO EXTREMELY STRICT AND INFLEXIBLE SECURITIES LAWS AND MAY NOT EVEN BE LISTED IN CEX。
This amendment triggered intense discussions within the industry, and Coinbase CEO Brian publicly withdrew his support for the bill, stating that the amended bill was worse than the absence of a bill. The core objection points are three:
1. Strangulation of currency stabilization incentives (most immediate conflicts of interest)
Coinbase works with Circe, and the user holds USDC and receives an award of about 3.5%. This is a huge contribution to Coinbase. Bank lobby groups vigorously promoted this article because they feared that depositors would transfer funds from banks to interest-bearing stable currency。
2. CLOSURE OF UNITED STATES SHARE CURRENCY AND RWA
Coinbase has been looking at Tokenization as the future of finance. Through complex registration requirements, the new version of the Act prohibits the free trade of tokenized shares in the encryption infrastructure。
3. THE END OF DEFI
The bill requires almost all DeFi agreements to be registered like banks or brokers, giving the Government a high degree of access to DeFi transaction data. Brian Armstrong considers this to be an infringement of user privacy and not technically feasible。
How will the bill affect us
The same bill is a very different script for different market participants。
1. Separate: double-edged sword
PROMISING: THE BILL MAKES IT MANDATORY FOR CEX TO SEQUESTER CLIENT FUNDS AND BE HELD IN TRUST BY THIRD PARTIES, PREVENTING THE FTX TRAGEDY FROM ITS ROOTS。
SPACE: AS A RESULT OF THE 2026 AMENDMENT TO PROTECT BANKS, THE DISPERSED HOUSEHOLDS MAY LOSE 3% TO 5% OF THE CEX STABILIZATION CURRENCY WITH INTEREST, AND AS A RESULT OF THE RWA RESTRICTION, THE VISION OF ORDINARY PEOPLE TO BUY FRACTIONS OF THEIR STOCK (E.G. 0.01 SHARES OF TESLA) THROUGH THE CHAIN WILL BE DASHED. THIS, OF COURSE, DEPENDS ON WHETHER THE ASSETS AND CEX AREA ARE COVERED BY THE ACT。
2. Institution: compliance dividend
This is more like a long-awaited compliance ticket for institutions. Legal certainty is a prerequisite for the entry of giants such as Goldman Sachs and Beled。
ONCE THE BOUNDARIES OF THE SEC’S JURISDICTION WITH THE CFTC HAVE BEEN CLARIFIED, BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS WILL BE ALLOCATED IN A CONSISTENT MANNER TO DIGITAL GOODS OUTSIDE BITCOIN, THE ETF, WHICH WILL CERTAINLY TRIGGER A WAVE OF CASH ETF APPLICATIONS。
3. Project participants: several happy families
PROJECTS DEFINED AS DIGITAL COMMODITIES THUS EMERGED FROM THE SEC ' S ENTANGLEMENT, WHILE THOSE DEFINED AS SECURITIES FACED EXTREMELY HEAVY COMPLIANCE REPORTING OBLIGATIONS AND FINANCING CONSTRAINTS。
In addition, the Act imposed a ban on the sale of coins by the core team, effectively curbing the vice of open-air smashing。
Fortunately, the bill explicitly protects non-trust developers. If you're just writing codes, issuing open-source protocols, without accessing client funds, you're not considered Money Transmitter, which protects purely technological innovation at the protocol level。
Industry debate: Consensus or division
Biteye summarizes the position of KOL& within the industry; the project party on the latest revised Act。
AB Kuai. Dong@_FORAB
Thrust link:https://x.com/_FORAB/status/201171007393095037
Perceptions: The sudden reaction reported by Coinbase was that the latest version of the bill was friendly to traditional banks but not to the detriment of encrypted original companies. Specific opposition points include limiting the incentive to stabilize currencies, increasing the cost of stock monetization, and expanding government regulation of DeFi, which could stifle innovation。
qimbafrank@qimbafrank
Thrust link:https://x.com/qimbafrank/status/2011631328555647098
Views: It is noted that the cancellation of the consideration by the Senate Banking Commission because of Coinbase ' s objection could lead to a reversal of the currency market. The focus of the opposition includes &ldquo on monetization equity; the de facto ban ” and DeFi ' s invasion of privacy, weakening the powers of the CFTC and removing the incentive mechanism for stabilizing the currency, which is seen as leading the SEC and inhibiting innovation。
Phyrex@Phylex_Ni(XHunt ranking: 765)
Thrust link:https://x.com/Phylex_Ni/status/2011810871211925967
Perceptions: An analysis of the reasons why Coinbsase CEO blocked the bill, including restrictions on monetized shares, functional regulation of DeFi, the question of the boundaries of power of the SEC, the inadmissibility of interest in stable coins and the ethics of conflict of interest in the Trump family。
PANews@PANews
Thrust link:https://x.com/PANews/status/2011013880266752
views: delays are considered to be increasingly unfavourable if programmes are delayed. january is the few structural legislative window available to the senate, and if it fails to move into substantive progress, it can easily be squeezed out of the overall legislative agenda & ldquo; naturally. at the same time, if the democrats are in the middle of the election, they will be less likely to pass through
@jason_chen998
Thrust link:https://x.com/jason_chen998/status/2012358494901694931
Perceptions: The idea that the conflict is essentially driven by the interests of the parties, such as Coinbase’s public opposition, is that the current version of the ban on interest on stable currencies is directly leading to Coinbase’s loss of $1 billion per year in revenue and loss of large numbers of users, while Ripple’s CEO is very supportive of the CLARITY bill, as well as because the ban on interest on stable currencies has no impact on Ripple。
BitcoinOrange@chengzi_95330 (XHunt ranking: 3508)
Thrust link:https://x.com/chengzi_95330/status/2012136666912494037
Perceptions: It is noted that although the current programme is incomplete, a16z, Circe, Kraken and others are willing to move forward out of fear that the legislative window may close directly if the table is lifted now; and Coinbase believes that if none of the core issues of securitization gains can be covered in such a secure and friendly political environment, then the more anti-encrypted political cycle in the future will have no chance at all, so they are doing “ the historical annotated &rdquo。
Brad Garlinghouse (Ripple CEO)@bgarlinghouse (XHunt ranking: 1870)
Thrust link:https://x.com/bgarlinghouse/status/2011559973818343785
View: Surprised by Coinbase's strong opposition, Brian's concerns were justified, but emphasised &ldquao; The rest of the industry is still constructively supporting and trying to solve the problem &rdquao; Garlinghouse states that Ripple is ready to move forward (e.g., XRPL monetization) under a compliance framework, looking at the bill as a step forward, rather than abandoning the whole process because of differences。
Vlad Tenev (Robinwood CEO)@vladtenev (XHunt ranking: 380)
Thrust link:https://x.com/vladtenev/status/201162524557783432
Perspective: Support for advancement. He reiterated Robinhod ' s support for Congress ' s adoption of a market structure bill, acknowledging that there was still work to be done (e.g. addressing the restrictions imposed by staking in some states and the availability of stock monetization), but seeing clear paths and willing to assist Senate Banking Company in doing so. It was stressed that the United States needed to lead the encryption policy to unlock innovation and protect consumers。
Arjun Sethi (Kraken co-CEO)@arjunsethi (XHunt ranking: 1941)
Thrust link:https://x.com/arjunsethi/status/20115798072759639
Strong support was expressed. He expressed Kraken ' s full commitment to supporting the efforts of Tim Scott and Cynthia Lummis, criticizing “ easily walking away or declaring failure ” easy, but really important “ continuing to emerge, solve problems, build consensus ” A waiver of the warning would increase uncertainty and drive innovation abroad。
Dispersion and Gold: 2026 Operational guidelines
A bar mitzvah, a fresh start. This is actually an &ldquao in the encryption industry; the bar mitzvah & rdquao; and it's a &rdquao. It marks the official leap of encrypted currency from the margins to the main stage of global finance。
regulatory “ clear ” per se, the largest infrastructure. for the diaspora, understanding and adapting to this new rule is key to safeguarding and increasing assets in the coming years. the following are three practical and implementable courses of action that have been prepared for you。
1. reassess the portfolio of assets in favour of “ digital commodities ” class of assets
For the holding of encrypted assets, the assigned weight of assets (e.g. bitcoin, hawks, etc.) that are clearly classified as “ digital goods ” and blue coins mature in their ecology could be increased. Such assets would be the first source of large-scale compliance flows from traditional institutions due to regulatory uncertainties, and their products, such as spot ETF, would be more easily approved, thus creating strong price support. On the contrary, the new issuances of & ldquo; securities & rdquo; need to be extremely cautious, and they will face stringent disclosure and financing restrictions and may run out of liquidity。
2. Reconfiguration of the currency stabilization strategy and search for alternative earnings
If users are in areas under the jurisdiction of Clarity (e.g. the United States), considering transferring funds to a non-trusted chain of DeFi agreements, as the bill may restrict CEX (e.g. Coinbase, Circle) from providing 3-5% stabilization currency incentives, and if the bill results in zero interest on the compliance exchange. Although DeFi is subject to increased regulation by the Act, its primary proceeds may become safe havens as long as the agreement itself is resistant to censorship。
3. PRUDENT TREATMENT OF THE RWA TRACK, ALERT TO THE MOBILITY TRAP
IN VIEW OF THE EXTREMELY HARSH ATTITUDE SHOWN BY THE SENATE IN THE REVISED VERSION OF THE RWA (REAL WORLD ASSET), IT MAY EVEN BE PROHIBITED FROM LISTING IN CEX. IF YOU CURRENTLY HOLD LARGE AMOUNTS OF MONETIZED SHARES OR BONDS, YOU NEED TO BE ALERT TO THE RISK OF LIQUIDITY DEPLETION. AT THE SAME TIME, BEFORE THE BILL’S DUST COMES TO AN END, DO NOT BLINDLY PARTICIPATE IN TRADITIONAL FINANCIAL PRODUCTS THAT REQUIRE HIGH-LEVEL COMPLIANCE, REAL-NAME CERTIFICATION (KYC), WHICH ARE MOST VULNERABLE TO BEING SHUT DOWN BY POLICY CHANGES。
