Industry Split Over Clarity Act After Coinbase Breaks Ranks Crypto

Crypto executives are divided over the market structure bill in its current form, with some arguing it needs major work, while others appear more supportive.

A division appears to be forming among crypto industry executives regarding the market structure bill, with crypto giants such as Coinbase pulling support, but others stating that any regulation is better than none.

“Crypto builders need clear rules of the road,” Chris Dixon, managing partner at a16z Crypto, said on Thursday.

He added that over the past five years, Republicans, Democrats, and the Trump Administration “have worked closely with members across the crypto industry to protect decentralization, support developers, and give entrepreneurs a fair shot … at its core, this bill does that.”

The comments are about the controversial market structure bill known as the CLARITY Act, which was due for a Senate markup this week but was delayed by the Senate Banking Committee late Wednesday.

“It’s not perfect, and changes are needed before it becomes law. But now is the time to move the CLARITY Act forward if we want the US to remain the best place in the world to build the future of crypto,” said Dixon.

Coin Center executive director, Peter Van Valkenburgh, was also positive, stating on Thursday that “we’re optimistic about where the current market structure draft stands.”

The legislation has become a hot topic following the high-profile withdrawal of support from America’s largest exchange, Coinbase, which said the bill wasn’t good enough in its current state.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said on Wednesday that he had reviewed the Senate Banking draft text but “unfortunately can’t support the bill as written.”

Armstrong showed appreciation for all the hard work by members of the Senate to reach a bipartisan outcome, “but this version would be materially worse than the current status quo.”

Source: CoinTelegraph