Former House finance chair urges Congress to pass crypto rules
Patrick McHenry said the Clarity Act would set market rules for digital assets and give U.S. companies clearer ground to build on.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
3 min read
Former Rep. Patrick McHenry is urging Congress to pass the Clarity Act, calling the crypto market structure bill a major test of U.S. technology and financial policy. In an opinion piece for Fortune, the former North Carolina Republican said the bill could help determine whether the United States keeps its lead in finance and emerging technology.
McHenry, who chaired the House Financial Services Committee, compared the proposal to the Telecommunications Act of 1996. He said both efforts involve broad legislation aimed at a developing technology, with consumer protections and coordination across multiple congressional committees.
McHenry says Congress has been too reactive
McHenry argued that U.S. financial lawmaking has focused for years on responding to past breakdowns rather than setting rules for new markets. He pointed to Dodd-Frank and later banking reforms as measures shaped by the 2008 financial crisis.
The Clarity Act, in his view, would mark a different approach. McHenry said it would be a comprehensive financial policy measure that is not being driven by a crisis, comparing its scale to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which passed nearly three decades ago.
He rejected arguments that existing securities laws are enough to regulate crypto or that the industry wants to avoid regulation. McHenry wrote that businesses in the sector are asking for clear rules so they can operate with more certainty.
Consumer protections and law enforcement tools
McHenry said the Clarity Act would give entrepreneurs more confidence to build companies without fear of arbitrary enforcement. He also said the bill would create protections for consumers and investors while giving law enforcement agencies tools to identify and stop criminals and other bad actors.
He framed the legislation as an attempt to place blockchain and digital asset activity inside a clear regulatory framework. McHenry wrote that there is disagreement over details, but said entrepreneurs, investors, academics and policymakers broadly agree that regulatory clarity is needed for blockchain technologies to grow.
McHenry also linked the bill to earlier internet-era policy choices. He argued that smart regulation helped create the infrastructure and protections that allowed internet companies and startups to expand in the United States.
Bipartisan support cited
McHenry said support in Congress gives him confidence that digital asset legislation is closer to passage. He cited the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin regulation bill, saying it passed both chambers of Congress with strong bipartisan backing.
He also said crypto market structure proposals have drawn sponsors from both parties and across ideological groups. According to McHenry, lawmakers increasingly understand that digital assets are not going away and that Congress needs to act.
McHenry warned that other countries are moving quickly to set rules for digital assets. He said capital and innovation will go to markets that provide legal certainty, and argued that the Clarity Act is the best chance for the United States to remain a central home for global capital markets under a strong regulatory system.
McHenry served in Congress for more than two decades and was chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. His comments were published by Fortune.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.