- Market structure bill risks being punted into 2027.
- Still, industry players say the SEC is moving ahead without Congress.
- The rest of the world is following closely behind.
A version of this story appeared in The Guidance newsletter on December 29. Sign up here.
A stablecoin bill, lenient financial regulator, and all-time highs.
The crypto industry got everything on its wishlist in 2025.
Well, almost everything.
If landmark stablecoin legislation passed quickly this summer, getting market structure rules — often called the Clarity Act — across the line has dragged on.
Now, some industry members say it’s too late.
“The optimal time for the Clarity Act to pass has already passed,” Matt O’Connor, founder of fundraising platform Legion, told DL News.
These rules would define whether cryptocurrencies are commodities or securities, which agency would regulate them, and how. That would be far more impactful than stablecoin rules, said O’Connor
‘It’s impossible to go against the tsunami. You have to embrace it.’
— Benoit Merzouk, CEO of BCP Technologies
It would also provide clear guidance on how crypto firms can register their companies to operate legally at scale.
For institutions still waiting for a green light, the bill would be a chequered flag.
If it doesn’t pass in the first half of the year, Clarity Act’s success hinges heavily on the outcome of the US midterm elections next winter.
“Whether it happens at all will depend on how the midterms go, and with the odds being that a solution passing both houses will be harder to arrive at if Democrats control one of the chambers,” Bill Hughes, director of global regulatory matters at Consensys, told DL News.
“If Republicans retain both chambers, then market structure legislation would be extraordinarily likely in 2027.”
Crypto wish list
US President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January was a wish come true for many in the crypto industry.
After years under the previous administration’s firebrand regulatory enforcement targeting decentralised finance protocols, developers, and many of the largest crypto exchanges on the planet, the 47th President promised a radical change.
After all, the Queens real estate mogul made big promises on the campaign trail — many of which he kept.
Trump issued a sweeping executive order just days into his mandate; established a crypto advisory council led by Bo Hines, which went on to shape crucial stablecoin legislation that passed in July; pledged to remove red tape that prohibited banks from holding cryptocurrencies; and, most importantly, reined in the country’s top financial watchdog from shaking down digital asset companies.
‘Chairman Atkins has repeatedly said he thinks most tokens are not securities. This will be much more impactful on the everyday user experience than Genius.’
— Matt O’Connor, founder of fundraising platform Legion
As the world’s largest and most influential economy, the US‘ moves even influenced more hesitant jurisdictions.
“Everybody is looking at Washington,” Benoit Merzouk, the CEO of the London-based stablecoin company BCP Technologies, told DL News.
“It’s impossible to go against the tsunami. You have to embrace it.”
Still, questions swirl about passing key rules to continue integrating digital assets with traditional financial markets. Lawmakers are stalled on several fronts.
For one, there’s still debate as to how the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission should regulate the industry.
Draft bills have different provisions for when a token qualifies as a security (and falls under the SEC’s jurisdiction) and when it qualifies as a commodity (and is overseen by the CFTC).
Another core issue concerns how DeFi should be regulated. Some lawmakers want to allow protocols that are truly decentralised to avoid being treated as brokers or exchanges.
Others want to bring the front-end of these protocols — the websites that let users lend or trade cryptocurrencies easily — under strict anti-money laundering and disclosure rules.
“The most important hangup to market structure is the disagreement on what to do with DeFi under the Bank Secrecy Act,” said Hughes.
“Much depends on whether there is a compromise or a more entrenched standoff.”
Deregulatory blitz
To be sure, the SEC under its chair, Paul Atkins, isn’t waiting around for Congress.
The SEC’s Project Crypto is already laying the groundwork for crypto to continue thriving even without clear regulations.
‘The rest of the world need not wonder the direction of travel in DC.’
— Dea Markova, director of policy at Fireblocks
In August, Atkins announced the deregulatory blitz and urged commission staff to develop proposals to address lingering confusion about the regulatory status of cryptocurrencies.
“The current guidance the SEC is working on is far-reaching, covering every aspect of tokens, not just issuance or offerings,” O’Connor said.
“Chairman Atkins has repeatedly said he thinks most tokens are not securities. This will be much more impactful on the everyday user experience than Genius.”
Meanwhile, pressure on lawmakers is also mounting from the traditional banking industry, which eager to work with cryptocurrencies.
This interest has two effects, Dea Markova, director of policy at Fireblocks, told DL News.
“Firstly, it gives policymakers confidence that institutions with long-standing risk controls and a long history of being regulated are now risk-managing digital assets,” she said.
“Secondly, it demonstrates demand and use cases, which weaken the argument that ‘crypto is just a speculative investment.’”
World watches on
Meanwhile, much of the world is playing catch-up.
The United Kingdom, which has been equally cautious in creating new rules for digital assets, has set out ambitious plans to implement its own framework by 2027.
Australia’s financial regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, also provided clearer token classifications and custody rules this year.
Europe’s sweeping Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or MiCA, also went into effect at the beginning of 2025, making it one of the first movers on this front.
Still, industry players remain focused on legislative moves in the US.
“One key difference between 2025 and 2026 is that the signal from the US was already sent, with Genius,” Fireblocks’ Markova told DL News.
“The rest of the world need not wonder about the direction of travel in DC.”
Liam Kelly is DL News’ Berlin-based DeFi correspondent. Have a tip? Get in touch at liam@dlnews.com.