The U.S. cryptocurrency industry poured over 13 million USD into lobbying efforts during the first half of this year. About $8 million of that sum was focused on activities related to the CLARITY Act (Cryptocurrency Market Structure Act), which aims to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets. Despite these efforts, the bill failed to pass in the Senate.
CoinDesk reported on August 1st that more than half of the crypto industry’s lobbying expenditures in the first six months of the year were tied to the CLARITY Act.
Coinbase, a major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, spent approximately 2.2 million USD on lobbying, including support for the CLARITY Act. Kraken invested around 1 million USD in similar efforts. Other industry players, such as Digital Currency Group (DCG), Jump Crypto, and Paradigm, also engaged in lobbying activities.
These reported amounts are separate from the over 100 million USD in campaign funds raised to support crypto-friendly politicians.
The industry also made significant efforts to engage with Congress. Lindsay Fraser, Chief Policy Officer at the Blockchain Association, held more than 380 meetings with congressional staff and federal officials in the first half of the year. Member companies participated in five Washington visit events and 15 staff briefings, discussing topics such as market structure, decentralized finance (DeFi), and tax policies.
Despite these efforts, the CLARITY Act failed to clear the Senate hurdle. Corey Frayer, Director of Investor Protection at the Consumer Federation of America and a former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official, noted internal conflicts within the industry regarding key policy decisions.
The industry, however, maintains that it has made progress in advancing legislative discussions and laying the groundwork for future regulatory frameworks. Julia Krieger, a Coinbase spokesperson, stated that they contributed to significant progress on the comprehensive and bipartisan CLARITY Act, bringing it close to passage and establishing a regulatory foundation.
Beyond the CLARITY Act, the industry’s lobbying funds were allocated to issues concerning tax laws, digital asset mining, and the development of regulations by various agencies.
Despite the setback with the CLARITY Act, the industry plans to continue its policy engagement with the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Fraser commented that they are currently assessing the situation following the Senate vote on the CLARITY Act and will intensify their collaboration with both the SEC and CFTC.
