SEC Chairman Paul Atkins delivered his clearest public endorsement yet of the CLARITY Act in a recent interview, expressing confidence that Congress will pass the legislation and the President will sign it.
“I have confidence that Congress will adopt the CLARITY Act and that the President will be able to sign it,” Atkins said. “That will give us a statutory basis upon which we can operate and allow the marketplace to innovate and do that here onshore.”
The remarks came as the Senate Banking Committee has advanced the bill toward a full Senate vote, putting crypto market structure legislation closer to becoming law than at any point in US history.
Why Clarity Is the Only Thing That Matters Right Now
Atkins was direct about what has been holding back crypto adoption in America. The problem is not technology. It is legal uncertainty.
“America is a litigious society,” he said. “Where there’s uncertainty and lawyers cannot give their clients certainty with respect to whether something is legal or not and under which rulebook you have to take your products to market, that creates needless cost. It’s a big impediment for people.”
He described how the previous regulatory approach drove innovation offshore rather than keeping it within the American legal framework. “We’ve chased a lot of these products offshore for people to try to innovate. We need to do it in America, under American law so that investors have the confidence and the protections of that.”
America Is the Crypto Capital. Keeping It That Way Requires Action.
When asked whether the US is currently the global centre for crypto finance, Atkins was unambiguous.
“I think we certainly are. And we need to make sure it stays that way.”
He drew a parallel to the Reagan era, noting that the current moment resembles the environment Reagan inherited, depressed markets and stifled innovation, and that the response then and now is the same. Clear rules, open markets, and confidence in the American system.
The CLARITY Act is the statutory foundation for all of it. Atkins made clear he expects it to get done.