Coin Center Executive Director Peter Van Valkenburgh warns the crypto industry faces a 'brutal regulatory crackdown' if Congress fails to act. He says seven weeks have passed since Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified, with no Senate vote on key market-structure bills or the CLARITY Act.
Without CLARITY, Van Valkenburgh predicts aggressive enforcement: The Department of Justice would prosecute developers of privacy tools. The Securities and Exchange Commission would revoke existing crypto-friendly guidance. Treasury and FinCEN would impose broad Bank Secrecy Act rules requiring AML and KYC across decentralized networks.
He warns a future of 'crypto hell' is possible if short-term business interests prevail over securing lasting protections. A rare bipartisan coalition, including Democrats Ron Wyden and Ritchie Torres alongside Republicans Tom Emmer, Cynthia Lummis, and Warren Davidson, offers a chance to lock in rules that bind future administrations. Van Valkenburgh stresses the point is not to trust the current administration but to constrain the next one.