Armstrong: Crypto clarity likely after Senate vote or regs

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said regulatory clarity for the U.S. crypto market will come either from a Senate cloture vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on Sept. 15 or from new rules from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission expected Sept. 16.

Armstrong posted on X, “Sounds like CLARITY is coming either way.” In a television interview he projected bitcoin could reach $300,000 to $400,000 by 2030, citing growing institutional adoption, bitcoin’s fixed supply and clearer regulation as factors behind the forecast.

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, known as the CLARITY Act, passed the House on July 17 by 294-134, with 78 Democrats joining Republicans. In the Senate, Republicans hold 53 seats, so at least seven Democrats would need to back a cloture motion to reach the 60 votes required to advance debate. Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed that cloture motion on Aug. 8 and set the procedural vote for Sept. 15 at 2 p.m. A failed cloture vote would complicate prospects for passage this year and could lead to further negotiation on ethics, conflict-of-interest and illicit-finance language sought by some senators.

Regulators have prepared a parallel route if the bill stalls. CFTC Chairman Mike Selig directed staff to develop a “crypto asset market” registration category modeled on the agency’s designated contract market framework, a structure that could apply to digital-asset trading venues without new legislation. The SEC and CFTC have run a joint initiative since January and published a joint interpretive framework in March that sorts digital assets into five categories, outlining possible regulatory approaches for different tokens and platforms.

Armstrong has urged lawmakers to approve clear rules and said most Americans support defined crypto regulation and will note how senators vote. With the Sept. 15 procedural Senate vote and regulators’ timeline on Sept. 16, market participants and investors are closely monitoring Washington for the next steps in U.S. crypto policy.