Clarity Act’s Failure Kicks Off Wave of Blame in Crypto World

This “blame game” began almost immediately after the digital assets legislation failed to clear the Senate earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Sunday (Sept. 20).

Some pointed to ethics concerns among Democrats about President Donald Trump’s ties to the crypto sector. Others said the industry wasted its chance to close a deal on the bill before factors like the Iran war, inflation and artificial intelligence became larger priorities for Congress.

At the center of it all was Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, WSJ added. Head of the largest U.S. crypto exchange, he had emerged as the industry’s leader in the battle over the legislation. Sources familiar with the negotiations around the bill said few other figures, not including Trump, had as much influence as Armstrong.

Armstrong visited Washington 13 times between the 2024 election to the recent vote, with his lobbying team holding multiple weekly calls with industry members to discuss the bill. WSJ characterizes this as “an extraordinary level of engagement” on Armstrong’s part.

Sources said Armstong could, and did, veto parts of the legislation he didn’t approve of, frustrating the process.