A coalition of crypto firms and advocacy groups has urged U.S. senators to move ahead with a markup of the Clarity Act, warning that delays risk pushing the industry offshore.
Summary
- Crypto groups have urged the Senate Banking Committee to advance a markup of the Clarity Act, warning that delays could push investment and innovation overseas.
- The April 23 letter calls on lawmakers to act, highlighting unresolved issues around stablecoin rewards, regulatory oversight, and protections for decentralized developers.
The push came through an April 23 letter led by the Crypto Council for Innovation and the Blockchain Association, addressed to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren, Digital Assets Subcommittee Chair Cynthia Lummis, and Ranking Member Ruben Gallego, calling on lawmakers to “notice and proceed towards a markup” of the Clarity Act.
“With thoughtful market structure legislation, Congress has the opportunity to extend that leadership into the next generation of financial technology,” the groups wrote.
Attention in the letter also turned to key policy areas already under discussion. Participants pointed to efforts to preserve transaction-based rewards tied to payment stablecoins, define the roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission in overseeing tokenized assets, and set protections for developers working on decentralized systems.
Lawmakers have also been weighing the need for a consistent federal baseline that would apply across all 50 states, an issue that has surfaced repeatedly in past industry submissions.
Calls for clarity are not new. In May 2025, a separate coalition of 30 crypto advocacy groups pressed the SEC to clarify its stance on staking, arguing the activity is a “technical process” rather than a securities transaction. Coordinated through the Proof of Stake Alliance, the coalition warned that unclear rules could push innovation beyond U.S. borders, echoing concerns now raised in the latest letter to the Senate.
Pressure builds as timeline slips
Momentum around the Senate’s crypto package has picked up even as timelines remain uncertain.
At a Washington event on Wednesday, Senator Bernie Moreno said he expects market structure legislation to be completed by the end of May, according to journalist Eleanor Terrett. Moreno reportedly dismissed bank opposition to stablecoin rewards as “a lot of noise in the system,” though his office did not confirm whether a markup could be delayed into next month.
Industry groups, however, made clear that interim steps such as agency guidance will not be enough to resolve those gaps.
“The United States cannot risk a return to the previous era of regulation by enforcement, which perpetuated uncertainty for both builders and market participants,” the letter stated, adding that “timely action is critical” as delays could drive “investment, jobs, and technological development offshore.”
Backing the appeal, the letter carried signatures from major firms including Coinbase, Circle, Kraken, Uniswap Labs, Ripple, Andreessen Horowitz, Chainlink Labs, Chainalysis, OKX, Paradigm, and Block, alongside a range of advocacy groups and state-level organizations.
Their message lands at a moment when global competition around crypto regulation is intensifying, with jurisdictions such as the U.K. and Hong Kong already moving to define clearer frameworks.
