US President Donald Trump convened leading crypto and finance executives at the White House on Wednesday to press Congress to pass the Clarity Act. The sweeping market-structure bill aims to clarify the division of jurisdiction between the SEC and the CFTC over digital assets, as the United States seeks to defend its technological edge against China.
🔑 Key Takeaways
- Trump called on Congress to pass a « fair version » of the Clarity Act at a White House crypto summit
- Executives from Coinbase, Ripple, Robinhood, Kraken, Chainlink, Gemini, Blockchain.com and a16z crypto attended the meeting
- The bill would establish federal rules for digital assets and clarify SEC/CFTC jurisdiction
- The Senate is expected to take up the bill in September, with Republicans needing roughly six additional Democratic votes
- The SEC proposed Tuesday exemptions for certain token offerings from securities laws
A strategic summit for the crypto industry
The US president hosted Wednesday a meeting bringing together top executives from the crypto industry and traditional finance, on the eve of the inaugural meeting of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) innovation advisory committee. The gathering, the largest of its kind at the White House since Trump’s return to office, underscores the administration’s push to structure a regulatory framework favorable to the industry’s development in the United States.
Among those present were Brian Armstrong (Coinbase), Brad Garlinghouse (Ripple), Vlad Tenev (Robinhood), Adena Friedman (Nasdaq), Jeff Sprecher (Intercontinental Exchange), Arjun Sethi (co-CEO of Kraken), Sergey Nazarov (Chainlink), Peter Smith (Blockchain.com), Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss (Gemini) and Chris Dixon (a16z crypto). SEC Chair Paul Atkins, CFTC Chair Michael Selig and White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt also took part in the discussions.
« We need Congress to take the next step and pass the Clarity Act, a fair version of the Clarity Act. It’s very, very powerful structural legislation that will keep us ahead of China and ahead of everybody else. »
Donald Trump, President of the United States
The Clarity Act, a market-structure bill
The Clarity Act is an ambitious bill on the market structure of crypto-assets that would establish federal rules for digital assets. Its main objective is to clarify the respective jurisdictions of the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission, the US securities regulator) and the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the regulator of commodities and derivatives markets), putting an end to years of legal uncertainty for industry players.
Currently, the boundary between assets classified as securities (under SEC jurisdiction) and those classified as commodities (under CFTC jurisdiction) remains blurry, creating significant regulatory risk for issuers and platforms. The key allocation axes envisioned by the bill include:
| Area | Jurisdiction | Implications |
|---|---|---|
| Tokens treated as securities | SEC | Enhanced disclosure, mandatory registration |
| Tokens treated as commodities | CFTC | Spot and derivatives market regulation |
| Payment stablecoins | Specific framework (GENIUS Act) | Backed reserves, regular audits |
| Centralized exchanges | Federal registration | Uniform compliance obligations |
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, called the text a « genuine bipartisan compromise » likely to entrench the regulatory gains made by the Trump administration.
« It would make all the progress this administration has made sustainable, they could survive for decades and decades. »
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase
SEC and CFTC take action
SEC Chair Paul Atkins used the event to detail the agency’s new proposal, released Tuesday, which provides exemptions for certain token offerings from securities regulations. The initiative aims to give crypto entrepreneurs the certainty they need to raise capital in the United States rather than relocating to more welcoming jurisdictions.
« Our proposal on crypto-assets would allow crypto entrepreneurs like those in this room and job creators to obtain the certainty they need to raise capital in the United States using digital assets. »
Paul Atkins, Chair of the SEC
Atkins added that the « single most important priority » remained the adoption of the Clarity Act by Congress, arguing that structural legislation was essential to durably anchor the executive’s regulatory reforms beyond one-off administrative actions.
A tight legislative calendar
The bill is expected to return to the Senate in September, after lawmakers left Washington for the August recess without scheduling a procedural vote (a parliamentary maneuver allowing the text to be debated on the floor). Republicans, who hold the majority, would need roughly six additional Democratic votes to reach the 60-vote threshold required to close debate and proceed to a final vote.
The calendar is especially tight: the Senate must resume work just weeks before the November midterm elections, leaving little margin to pass the bill before the end of the congressional term. This narrow legislative window puts pressure on bipartisan negotiations, particularly since some Democrats remain wary of the crypto industry’s influence on the text.
Hyperliquid and the global tech race
During the meeting, Trump also mentioned his administration’s efforts to bring Hyperliquid to US soil. The decentralized perpetual contracts platform (derivative contracts with no expiry that let users bet on the price movement of an underlying asset) is one of the most prominent players in DeFi (decentralized finance) in 2025-2026.
« I understand Mike [Selig] is also working to bring Hyperliquid to the United States in a fully compliant and legal way. We care about that very much. »
Donald Trump, President of the United States
The president also sharply criticized the Biden administration’s approach to the crypto sector, accusing it of using regulation and enforcement actions to push businesses out of the country as part of what he called « Operation Chokepoint 2.0 » (an unofficial policy of restricting crypto firms’ access to banking services). He cited as examples of policies adopted since his return to office the strategic Bitcoin reserve, digital asset reserves, the ban on a US central bank digital currency (CBDC) and the GENIUS Act (the federal stablecoin law passed in 2025).
Conclusion
The mobilization of the crypto industry at the White House illustrates the strategic convergence between the US executive and major industry players around a shared goal: giving the United States a coherent federal regulatory framework for crypto-assets. The fate of the Clarity Act will hinge on Republicans’ ability to rally enough Democratic senators before November. Without adoption before the end of the term, the bill would have to be reintroduced, further delaying the long-awaited clarification between SEC and CFTC jurisdictions.
For crypto businesses, the stakes are high: US competitiveness against jurisdictions like the European Union (MiCA regulation), the United Kingdom or Singapore could hinge on this structural clarification. If the bipartisan calendar fails, the executive could be tempted to accelerate unilateral regulatory action through the SEC and CFTC, as Paul Atkins hinted.
Sources
This article is published for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice. Do your own research (DYOR) before making any decision.
