CryptoSlate
Crypto political spending hit $206 million over the 18 months through June, more than any other corporate sector, with the crypto, AI, and online betting industries together accounting for $344 million of a record $646 million in total corporate donations, per Public Citizen's analysis of FEC filings. The lobbying bonanza now points at a specific September 15 Senate cloture vote on the CLARITY Act, a procedural hurdle requiring 60 votes to advance the market-structure bill the House passed 294-134 in July 2025. Founders interviewed by CryptoSlate describe a pivot from asking Congress for permission to operate, to asking it to lock in the wins already made under the GENIUS Act, the SEC's Atkins-era rewrite, and the CFTC's onshore push.
Why it matters
Utkarsh Ahuja, founder of Moon Pursuit Capital, told CryptoSlate that founders now build on five- and ten-year timelines, and that a regulatory framework that swings with each new administration gets priced directly into where capital deploys. SEC Chair Paul Atkins said on August 18 that legislation remains indispensable to rules "future-proofed" enough that a future regulator cannot simply undo the current SEC's work. That a senior administration official and an outside investor are converging on the durability argument independently gives the request real weight beyond ordinary lobbying language.
The deeper ask is market structure itself. The CLARITY Act would create a system letting the SEC and CFTC jointly regulate the offer and sale of digital commodities, resolving the jurisdictional fight that has defined crypto lobbying for years. Ahuja, Ryan Kirkley of Global Settlement Network, and Parth Kapadia of OpenVPP each named finishing market structure as the priority, independently of one another.
Market impact
Total stablecoin market capitalization sits near $303.7 billion, and 21 financial institutions including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi, and Deutsche Bank announced September 1 plans to launch a jointly owned dollar-pegged stablecoin by early 2027. Tokenized real-world assets have more than tripled since the start of 2025, reaching nearly $39 billion as of September 1. If the CLARITY Act's cloture vote fails, the market-structure fight extends into a midterm cycle where committee gavels and chamber leadership could shift; institutional capital keeps discounting US crypto policy for its volatility, and the industry's record political spending buys attention without buying the permanence founders say they need.
Frequently asked questions
-
What is the CLARITY Act and what would it do?
The CLARITY Act would create a system letting the SEC and CFTC jointly regulate the offer and sale of digital commodities, resolving the long-running jurisdictional fight that has defined crypto lobbying for years. The House passed the bill 294-134 in July 2025.
-
How much has the crypto industry spent on lobbying?
Crypto political spending reached $206 million over the 18 months through June, more than any other corporate sector, per Public Citizen's analysis of FEC filings. Combined with AI and online betting, the three industries accounted for $344 million of a record $646 million in total corporate donations.
-
What is the September 15 cloture vote?
The Senate faces a September 15 cloture vote on the motion to proceed to the CLARITY Act, a procedural step requiring 60 votes to limit debate. If cloture fails, the market-structure fight extends into a midterm cycle where committee control and chamber leadership could shift.
-
Why does the crypto industry want durable rules?
Founders interviewed by CryptoSlate said they build on five- and ten-year timelines, and a regulatory framework that swings with each new administration gets priced directly into where capital deploys. SEC Chair Paul Atkins said on August 18 that legislation is indispensable to rules future-proofed enough that a…
-
How big is the stablecoin market right now?
Total stablecoin market capitalization sits near $303.7 billion. Twenty-one financial institutions including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi, and Deutsche Bank announced September 1 plans to launch a jointly owned dollar-pegged stablecoin by early 2027.
CoinTelegraph
Crypto News
CoinDesk
TheBlock
WatcherGuru