Bessent presses Congress to pass Clarity Act for crypto

Former Treasury secretary Scott Bessent urged Congress in an op-ed to pass the Clarity Act to define federal rules for digital assets and encourage companies and developers to operate in the United States. He said regulatory uncertainty is pushing businesses and projects offshore.

Bessent noted that the GENIUS Act, signed last year, provided a legal footing for stablecoins but left the broader crypto market without clear federal rules. He argued a durable statute is needed to replace the current mix of guidance and enforcement actions that create legal ambiguity for market participants.

He faulted the Securities and Exchange Commission under Chair Gary Gensler for making overlapping and sometimes conflicting claims about agency authority, which he said left developers, exchanges and investors unsure how to register, what standards to meet, or how to operate without legal risk.

Bessent cited market figures to underscore urgency. “Over the past year, the global market capitalization of digital assets fluctuated between $2 trillion and $3 trillion. Nearly 1 in 6 Americans owns some form of digital asset. Major financial institutions have launched or sought approval for crypto-related products,” he wrote.

Under the Clarity Act as described by Bessent, regulatory authority would be divided more clearly among agencies, registration paths would be created for trading platforms and intermediaries, and the law would set standards for when a crypto asset should be treated as a security. The proposal would include protections for software developers intended to keep the underlying technology open and built in the United States. He added, “Congress will ensure that the next generation of financial innovation is built on American rails, backed by American institutions, and denominated in American dollars.”

Bessent warned that legal uncertainty has led many projects to establish operations in jurisdictions with clearer rules, pointing to Abu Dhabi and Singapore as examples. He said the risk of litigation or enforcement in the United States often outweighs the benefits of staying, costing jobs and tax revenue tied to tokenized assets, decentralized exchanges and new fundraising methods.

He urged entrepreneurs and founders to form companies and launch protocols in the United States and called on lawmakers to act quickly, writing on social media that “Senate time is precious, and now is the time to act.”