White House sees forward path for CLARITY Act: ‘Time is of the essence’

The White House seems hopeful about resolving the teething issues on the crypto market structure bill, the CLARITY Act. After a partial win on stablecoin yield compromise, developer protection is next on the table. 

According to former FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, the White House will host law enforcement officials on Wednesday, the 10th of June.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Terrett said the meeting will address concerns raised by the group, especially on developer protections under the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA). 

For the unfamiliar, BRCA seeks legal relief for developers of non-custodial platforms to avoid categorizing them as money transmitters. As such, any wrongdoing on such platforms should target third-party crime perpetrators, not the innocent builders. 

So how do you ensure such decentralized venues aren’t used for illicit finances? 

In the past, it was easy to go for founders like Tornado Cash’s Roman Storm. This, according to some analysts, helped warn others from creating such systems that enable sanctioned entities to move capital. 

Although over 160 law enforcement officials recently backed the bill, it’s unclear what a compromise on the developer protections will look like. 

Industry’s push for CLARITY Act’s floor vote

That said, the upcoming White House meeting followed a recent push by the industry for the Senate to pass the bill. Over 200 crypto organizations and firms, including the industry’s lobby groups Stand With Crypto, urged Senate leadership to schedule a floor vote for the bill. 

Reacting to the update, White House crypto chief advisor Patrick Witt said, 

Big week ahead for Clarity. The work has continued in earnest behind the scenes since the Banking markup. The issue set has narrowed, and good faith offers are being put forward to close the gap. But time is of the essence.

The ‘big week ahead’ likely referred to the developer protection meeting. 

Separately, the House officially unveiled crypto tax proposals to address double taxation on crypto miners and stakers, among other issues. For Witt, this was a double win, adding that, 

Clarity for market structure, Parity for tax. Great work.

Still, banks aren’t wholly supportive of the stablecoin yield provisions. Although the White House has kicked off ethics provision discussions, it remains a key contention given Trump’s family’s interest in the sector. 

As of writing, the market was 50/50 on the bill’s passage by the end of the year. 

Final Summary

• The White House will hold a meeting on Wednesday to address developer protection provisions concerns.
• The market was 50/50 on the CLARITY Act passage ahead of the November midterms.