入门 Galaxy Digital CEO Warns: Without Clarity Act, U.S. Faces Years of Crypto Regulatory Uncertainty
Quick answer
Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz stated on September 15, 2026, that if the bipartisan Clarity Act fails to advance through Congress, the United States risks enduring prolonged regulatory ambiguity for digital assets — potentially spanning several years. He emphasized that without statutory clarity on agency jurisdiction (particularly between the SEC and CFTC), innovation will stall, institutional capital will remain sidelined, and U.S. competitiveness in blockchain infrastructure may erode relative to jurisdictions like Switzerland, Japan, and the UAE.
What is the Clarity Act — and why does Galaxy Digital consider it urgent?
The Clarity Act (formally introduced in the U.S. Senate in early 2025) seeks to define which digital assets fall under the Commodity Exchange Act (CFTC’s purview) versus the Securities Act (SEC’s domain). As Novogratz explained in his September 15, 2026 statement cited by Panews Lab, the bill would codify longstanding industry consensus: that Bitcoin and Ether are commodities, while tokens sold via investment contracts — such as certain tokenized securities or pre-mined utility tokens with centralized fundraising — remain subject to SEC oversight. Without this statutory line, regulators continue issuing conflicting guidance, enforcement actions, and no-action letters — creating legal whiplash for developers, exchanges, and custodians.
How does regulatory limbo affect U.S. crypto firms today?
According to Novogratz, over 70% of U.S.-based institutional crypto funds surveyed by Galaxy Digital in Q2 2026 reported delaying product launches due to uncertainty around custody rules, tax treatment of staking rewards, and permissible marketing channels. One concrete example he cited: a Tier-1 asset manager paused its DeFi yield strategy rollout after the SEC’s March 2026 enforcement action against a staking-as-a-service provider — despite that firm having previously received informal CFTC feedback suggesting its model aligned with commodity derivatives frameworks. This jurisdictional overlap, Novogratz stressed, isn’t theoretical: it directly impedes capital formation, compliance scalability, and cross-border interoperability.
What alternatives exist if the Clarity Act stalls?
Novogratz acknowledged that executive-branch workarounds — such as interagency memoranda or CFTC rulemaking on digital commodity definitions — are underway but insufficient. He pointed to the CFTC’s July 2026 proposed definition of ‘digital commodity’ as a step forward, yet noted it lacks statutory weight and remains vulnerable to judicial challenge or reversal by future administrations. In contrast, the Clarity Act would embed jurisdictional boundaries into federal law — providing durable, court-tested certainty. He also highlighted that states like Wyoming and Tennessee have enacted supportive frameworks, but stressed these cannot resolve federal enforcement conflicts or enable national-scale market infrastructure (e.g., regulated spot Bitcoin ETFs or tokenized Treasury platforms).
Frequently asked questions
Q: Has the Clarity Act passed either chamber of Congress as of September 2026? A: No. As of September 15, 2026, the Clarity Act remains in committee review in both the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee, with no scheduled markup or floor vote confirmed.
Q: Does Galaxy Digital support any specific amendments to the Clarity Act? A: Yes. According to Novogratz’s remarks, Galaxy Digital backs the inclusion of a sunset clause requiring reevaluation of the statutory definitions every five years — ensuring adaptability as technology evolves — and explicit carve-outs for decentralized protocol governance tokens meeting objective decentralization thresholds (e.g., >5,000 independent validators, <20% token concentration among top 100 holders per on-chain analytics from Chainalysis Q2 2026 data).
Risk warning and disclosure
Investing involves risk and market risk; official live rules always apply. Some outbound links may be affiliate links and we may earn a commission. This article is independent third-party information, not an official publication, and is not investment advice.
Related reading
Get started: Open the official download and registration page
Related News
入门 Lazarus Group Sells 911 ETH at $2,499 Average Price Amid Ongoing Blockchain Monitoring
Lazarus Group sold 911 ETH at an average price of $2,499 per coin on September 12–14, 2026, generating ~$2.276 million in gross proceeds. The transaction…
入门 Eight U.S. Banking Groups Call for Stricter Stablecoin Reward Limits in Clarity Act
Eight major U.S. banking trade associations jointly urged lawmakers to impose explicit caps on stablecoin yield incentives and strengthen regulatory bound…
入门 Upbit’s Integration into Naver’s Ecosystem Sparks Regulatory Scrutiny Over Shareholding Structure
South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, has formally integrated into Naver’s corporate ecosystem — raising regulatory questions about compli…
Follow the market on a major exchange
Download Binance or OKX from the official website to start trading.