Crypto Industry Pressure Repeatedly Undid Bipartisan Deals, Helping Sink CLARITY Act in Senate

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A U.S. market-structure bill for the cryptocurrency industry, the CLARITY Act, was derailed in the Senate in part because sustained pressure from the crypto sector repeatedly unraveled bipartisan agreements, according to a report.

Punchbowl News reporter Brendan Pedersen wrote on X on Sept. 20 that interviews with more than 12 congressional aides involved in the legislation pointed to flawed negotiations, wasted time and excessive pressure from the crypto industry as key reasons the bill failed.

According to Punchbowl News, Democrats and Republicans spent thousands of hours negotiating the bill beginning in September last year. But even after the two sides reached agreements in principle in private talks or worked out specific legislative language, those terms were repeatedly revised when the industry objected.