‘Last Chance’: US Crypto Policy Hits Critical Deadline, Senator Says

Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal said the CLARITY Act could be nearing a markup hearing in the Senate Banking Committee, but he tied that progress to one unresolved issue: the dispute over crypto and stablecoin yield.

That came as the broader push for the bill picked up new urgency from lawmakers and industry figures who fear the window for action is closing fast.

Deadline Pressure Builds

US Senator Cynthia Lummis said the country may not get another serious shot at the bill before 2030.

In a post on X on Friday, she said this was the “last chance” to pass the CLARITY Act until at least that year and warned against letting the country’s financial future slip away.

Her warning landed at a sensitive moment. Industry participants have grown more uneasy about the bill’s prospects this year, with November midterm elections threatening to shift congressional priorities and slow work on crypto legislation.

Lummis’ comments framed the fight as one that cannot sit on the shelf much longer.

David Sacks, the former White House AI and crypto czar, echoed that view a day earlier. He said Senate Banking, followed by the full Senate, should pass market-structure legislation and said he believes US President Donald Trump would sign it into law.

Industry Push Gathers Steam

The pressure is not coming from lawmakers alone. Chris Dixon, a16z Crypto’s managing partner, said rules that are clearly defined help both consumers and entrepreneurs.

That line has become a common argument inside the industry, where many firms say clearer oversight would help the US pull in more innovation and more retail demand for crypto assets.

That view has spread across different corners of the sector. Immutable founder Robbie Ferguson said on April 3 that the CLARITY Act could make the past decade of gaming growth look small by comparison.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also shifted his tone on Friday, saying it was time for the bill to move after months of delays.

Even with that momentum, a key problem remains. Grewal said on April 2 that the bill may be close to a Senate Banking Committee markup, but he also said the path forward depends on agreement over stablecoin yield.

That issue has kept the legislation from moving cleanly, even as support has built among companies and some regulators.

Regulators are now adding their voices too. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said the time had come for Congress to move market-structure legislation to Trump’s desk and to protect the system from what he called rogue regulators.

The CLARITY Act has since become a test of whether Washington can settle crypto rules before the political calendar closes in.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView