Much of the crypto industry is still recovering from the CLARITY Act’s defeat in Congress, but one of its best-known regulators is not mourning it. Chris Giancarlo, former chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), says the bill’s failure may turn out fine for crypto.
“I’m quite satisfied that Clarity didn’t pass. We’re going to be just fine,” Giancarlo said in a recent interview.
Why The CLARITY Act Failed
Giancarlo said the bill began to “die a slow death” over its final six months. It dragged on too long and tried to please every interest group, piling up extra provisions until it became “unloved by everybody.”
He does not expect the bill to return “anytime soon.”
Why Crypto May Not Need It
Giancarlo argued that the US has rarely written laws before new technology arrives. There was no founding law for the internet, big data or artificial intelligence, he said, and each grew into something remarkable without one.
Writing rules first is “sort of a European thing,” Giancarlo said. It pushes innovators to build around government demands, when they should be building around what customers need.
He said the SEC and CFTC are now writing rules under the powers they already have, which addresses the industry’s real needs. The main reason crypto pushed so hard for a law, he added, was to stop the hostility of the Biden years from ever returning.
Did Trump’s Memecoins Kill The Bill?
Asked whether President Donald Trump’s crypto interests hurt the CLARITY Act, Giancarlo said: “I think that’s true.”
He called the Trump coin and Melania coin “ill-advised” and said the issue had become “a political football.” Giancarlo noted that when he ran the CFTC, no rule stopped him from owning Bitcoin, but he chose not to hold any while writing crypto rules. “Statesmen should self-impose some restrictions,” he said.
Trump Still A Net Positive, Giancarlo Says
Despite those criticisms, Giancarlo believes Trump has been good for crypto overall. He said the best decisions were the appointments of crypto-friendly regulators:
- Paul Atkins as chair of the SEC
- Mike Selig as chair of the CFTC
- Gould as head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Giancarlo praised Selig, who once worked for him, and said Selig is doing “everything he can” with the powers Congress has given him.
The US Is Winning The Crypto Race
Giancarlo said the United States is “winning the crypto race right now.” He described the United Arab Emirates as strong but regional, and said the US has the world’s largest financial market and the deepest pool of tech talent.
He also criticised Senator Elizabeth Warren and others as people who want people to stick with “paper checks and branch banks.” Younger generations raised online will not accept an analog financial system, he said.
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