WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that cryptocurrency companies should support pending federal legislation known as the CLARITY Act, arguing that clearer rules would stabilize volatile digital-asset markets and encourage broader institutional participation.
Speaking in an interview on CNBC, Bessent said the bill is designed to create a regulatory framework for digital assets and should be passed by Congress as soon as possible, ideally this spring.
But as the CU Daily has been reporting, financial institutions and crypto companies are at a loggerheads on whether stablecoin issuers should be allowed to offer interest or rewards, with banks arguing this creates unfair, unregulated competition for deposits, while crypto companies argue it limits innovation.
As the CU Daily has reported, banks and credit unions fear “deposit flight” and advocate for strict, bank-like regulation on stablecoin providers, whereas crypto firms push for a framework that enables digital asset growth, marking a turf war over the future of financial services.
Bessent acknowledged the turbulence around how cryptocurrencies will be regulated, saying that “some clarity on the Clarity bill would give great comfort to the market.”
Push for Regulatory Certainty
The proposed legislation is designed to resolve long-running jurisdictional disputes among federal regulators and establish clearer oversight of digital assets, including stablecoins and trading markets.
Bessent said progress in the sector is difficult without defined rules and urged market participants to back the measure rather than resist it, emphasizing the need for “safe, sound” oversight alongside innovation.
He warned that delays risk prolonging uncertainty that keeps major institutional investors on the sidelines, a dynamic he suggested has contributed to market swings and weaker sentiment.
Criticism of Industry Opposition
Bessent also faulted some crypto firms for attempting to block or slow the legislation, saying their resistance has not been beneficial to the broader digital-asset community.
