During the recent Senate review of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY), Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) shared a story that should resonate with every American parent. She spoke about her twenty-year-old daughter and her daughter’s generation – their intuitive interest in digital assets and their desire for a modern financial system that provides both opportunity and protection.
This underscored the growing urgency and seriousness of digital asset policy in Washington. “The digital revolution is upon us,” said Senator Alsobrooks. “This happens with us or without us. We have a responsibility to regulate this to create rules of the road.”
His remarks reflect the growing recognition that the United States can no longer afford to approach digital asset policy reactively. This legislation doesn’t just affect America today; it’s about tomorrow. We owe it to our children and the younger generation to implement this policy correctly.
Speaker Tim Scott framed the debate through the lens of opportunity, faith and the American dream for working families. Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of Bitcoin’s early advocates in Congress, highlighted the bipartisan work behind the legislation. Even senators who withheld support at the time, including Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, spoke thoughtfully about their constituents’ commitment to the technology and stressed the importance of legislation ensuring their protection.
The question we now face is whether the United States will take the lead in shaping that future or whether it will neglect that responsibility.
The 15-9 vote in favor of Clarity in the Senate highlights three crucial realities for the future of the American economy.
First, serious bipartisan policymaking regarding digital assets is not only possible, it is already underway. This increase demonstrates that credible policy and thoughtful engagement can still move Washington forward. Even senators who ultimately did not vote in favor of the bill, including Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), expressed their intention to continue working on a constructive path.
The desire of leaders like Senators Scott, Lummis, Tillis, Alsobrooks, Gallego, Hagerty, Moreno and others to bridge the divide – including on the complex issue of stable coin yield – shows that a bipartisan path is the only sustainable path forward.
Second, digital assets and blockchain are here to stay. As senators on both sides of the aisle expressed throughout the hearing, the debate over the viability of digital assets is over. The only question is whether the United States will be the first to shape the future of digital finance or whether it will cede this leadership to others.
Nearly 68 million Americans, or about one in five, already own digital assets. A new Harris poll shows that number increased by 12 million in the past year alone, putting U.S. holders closer to one in four. They include teachers, construction workers, veterans, entrepreneurs and small business owners, with a third being Gen Z and another third being millennials. They use digital assets to send money to family members, make purchases and plan their financial future. Eighty-three percent of all U.S. holders agree that stronger regulation is needed to protect consumers. Yet 88% of global cryptocurrency trading activity occurs on foreign exchanges outside of U.S. supervision. Americans deserve the protection, clarity and oversight that only a federal framework can provide.
Finally, Congress must finish the job. The time has come. It is imperative that the entire Senate act quickly.
The GENIUS Act established the payments layer through stable legislation, but without clarity to provide the market structure, trading platform oversight, and asset classification needed to support it, the United States risks leaving the job unfinished. As Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rightly pointed out, stablecoins without a broader market structure constitute a “foundation without walls.” If we fail to act, we risk sending the next generation of American innovation and the talent, investment, and technology that comes with it to foreign countries.
This important work is also the responsibility of industry. A global market structure will not happen because we asked for it; it will happen because we live up to the seriousness that Congress has demonstrated. Now is the time to continue to engage substantively and constructively with the concerns raised by Members of Congress. This does not constitute an obstacle to work; it’s work.
The markup proved that the momentum is with us. The resolve in this room showed that Washington recognizes the high stakes for American competitiveness and the future of digital finance. We have the mandate, bipartisan support, and duty to ensure that the future of digital finance is unambiguously American.
America has long dominated the world because it embraced innovation, markets, and the rule of law. The window is open. The only question is whether we will close it on our terms.
A vote for clarity is a vote for regulation – the rules this generation needs and the rules the next generation will inherit. Congress now has the opportunity to shape this technology rather than chase it. Let’s finish the job in the Senate.
