McHenry says crypto industry spurned CLARITY Act compromises

Key points

• The House passed the CLARITY Act 294–134 on 17 July 2025, but a Senate motion to proceed failed 49–50 on 15 September 2026, short of the 60 votes needed for cloture.
• Patrick McHenry, in a 6 November 2026 interview with Eleanor Terrett, said the industry held out for better terms and accepted some blame himself.
• Coinbase withdrew support in January 2026 over stablecoin reward restrictions, and Democrats won both chambers in the November 2026 midterms.

Patrick McHenry says the crypto industry squandered its best chance at regulatory clarity by rejecting compromises it could have secured. In a 6 November 2026 interview with journalist Eleanor Terrett, the former House Financial Services Committee chairman said participants held out for legislation that was politically out of reach, and he accepted some responsibility for the outcome himself.

The CLARITY Act, which would have set out the roles of the SEC and CFTC and imposed registration and compliance standards, passed the House 294–134 on 17 July 2025.

Negotiations were complicated by a fight over stablecoin rewards. Coinbase, whose chief executive Brian Armstrong championed them, withdrew support for an earlier draft in January 2026, and a May compromise on interest-like payments came only after months of talks. Ethics provisions concerning officials' digital asset interests also divided lawmakers.

What to watch: Congress could revisit the CLARITY Act in the post-election session, or take up narrower bills on asset classification, CFTC spot-market jurisdiction, taxation and custody.

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