Clarity's failure could speed crypto innovation while shielding incumbents

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act’s failure to advance in the Senate has shifted the next phase of U.S. crypto regulation to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), opening prospects for more trading and investment to move onchain while leaving a central question unresolved: how much certainty can regulators deliver without Congress? Interviews with senior executives and legal experts suggest broad agreement that regulation will keep moving. Their expectations diverge over whether agency action can become a durable foundation or leave businesses adapting to rules vulnerable to political and legal change.