Former CFTC chair Chris Giancarlo says U.S. banks need clearer crypto rules more urgently than the crypto industry itself — and without them, American banks risk falling behind global competitors.
Speaking on Scott Melker’s The Wolf Of All Streets podcast, Giancarlo framed recent policy moves as part of a broader U.S. pivot on crypto regulation. He called last July’s landmark stablecoin law, the GENIUS Act, “the appetizer,” and described the stalled market-structure bill — the CLARITY Act — as the “main dish” that has proven to be “the hard part.”
The CLARITY Act has been stuck for nearly two months since the Senate Banking Committee released a draft in mid-January. That draft drew criticism from crypto leaders for provisions limiting stablecoin issuers, kicking off a prolonged clash between banks and the digital-asset industry. Giancarlo warned that this uncertainty is a major problem for banks: their general counsels are telling boards they can’t plow billions into new systems without regulatory certainty, so banks will hesitate to invest and risk being left behind.
By contrast, Giancarlo argued, crypto firms will keep building — whether in the U.S. or overseas. “They are risk-takers. They’re going to build it here, or they’re going to build it abroad,” he said, adding that the industry has continued innovating even under strict SEC enforcement led by Gary Gensler.
If Congress fails to pass the CLARITY Act, Giancarlo believes regulators like the SEC and CFTC will step in to create interim rules. Those agency actions could keep markets functioning but won’t offer the long-term certainty banks require. He framed the debate as intensely political — Republicans vs. Democrats, and traditional finance vs. DeFi and new technologies — and warned that timing couldn’t be worse in an election year when Washington is focused on swaying voters ahead of midterms.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has urged lawmakers to move on the bill this spring, citing bipartisan efforts to advance the legislation and warning that Democratic control of the House after November could undermine any compromise. Despite the friction, Giancarlo is cautiously optimistic: he pegs the chances of passage at roughly 60-40, saying the bill contains “a lot of good in the bill for all sides.”
“It’s the new architecture of finance,” Giancarlo concluded — urging policymakers to modernize America’s dominant financial institutions so they can lead in the era of digital assets.
Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news
