Former CFTC chair Chris Giancarlo urged the crypto industry not to treat the CLARITY Act as make-or-break, saying innovation and adoption will continue with or without the bill while still supporting its passage and warning it could expand surveillance and raise Fourth Amendment concerns. The House passed H.R. 3633 on July 17, 2025 by 294-134 and the Senate Banking Committee advanced it 15-9 on May 14, 2026, but the bill has sat on the Senate calendar for about 80 days with a recess Aug 10–Sep 11 and the CFTC currently has only one of five Senate-confirmed seats filled (Michael Selig sworn in Dec 2025), leaving regulatory uncertainty for crypto, DeFi, DEX/CEX and token projects.

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In Brief

Giancarlo says crypto innovation continues whether the CLARITY Act passes or fails
He compares crypto to the internet, which grew without an authorizing statute
CLARITY has sat on the Senate calendar since a 15-9 committee vote

Crypto’s most prominent former regulator wants the industry to stop treating the CLARITY Act as make-or-break. Chris Giancarlo, who chaired the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2017 to 2019, says the technology gets built either way.

Giancarlo still wants the bill passed. However, he argues the industry has staked its public message on legislation that has sat idle in the Senate for 80 days.

The CLARITY Act Is Not a Precondition

Speaking in a recent interview, Giancarlo said the sector has overcommitted to one piece of legislation.

“Now, what I’d say to the industry is perhaps it’s time to stop making such a big deal out of CLARITY,” he said.

The timeline explains the anxiety. The House passed H.R. 3633 on July 17, 2025, by 294 votes to 134. The Senate Banking Committee advanced it 15-9 on May 14, 2026.

No floor vote has followed. The Senate calendar sends the chamber home from August 10 until September 11, leaving roughly one week of floor time.

Giancarlo pointed to an older technology as precedent.

“The industry is running around saying we need clarity, we need clarity. Yeah, we do. But the internet is still happening and there’s never been an authorizing statute 30 years later. If we don’t get clarity, innovation goes on.”

That cuts against the message from the bill’s loudest backers, including MicroStrategy and its lead Senate author, Cynthia Lummis.

Why Giancarlo Still Wants the Bill

His position is not opposition, and part of it is personal. Section 503 codifies LabCFTC, the fintech office he created in May 2017 as acting chairman.

He wants every financial regulator in Washington to run something similar.

“I’d like to see clarity pass, but I think we need to brace ourselves that it might not and the world is going to go on.”

The Precedent That Worries Him

Giancarlo also warns that legislation drags surveillance along with it. Public Law 119-27, the GENIUS Act, subjects permitted stablecoin issuers to the Bank Secrecy Act.

CLARITY applies the same standard to digital asset transactions. Giancarlo argues that approach violates Fourth Amendment privacy rights.

What Happens If CLARITY Fails

The CFTC is running on one Senate-confirmed official. Michael Selig, sworn in as the 16th chairman in December 2025, occupies the only filled seat of five.

Giancarlo expects the agency to keep moving with or without a statute.

“This is a change that is going to happen whether the clarity bill passes or not… Clarity will bring order to how that change happens. But it’s not going to stop that change.”

Failure would separate builders from spectators, he argued.