It’s a tough slog to pass legislation ahead of U.S. midterm elections, and even more so for stand-alone bills like the so-called Clarity Act—a bill that sets out rules for crypto assets and services to become part of the financial mainstream. Despite all this, longtime crypto policy expert Kristin Smith believes the bill has a very good chance of passing, and on the latest episode of Fortune’s Crypto Playbook—available on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube—she explained how things are likely to unfold.
Smith is widely known in crypto circles for having built the trade group Blockchain Association into a lobbying powerhouse that helped pass the Genius Act, a landmark piece of stablecoin legislation. In her current role as president of the Solana Policy Institute, she has been tracking the progress of the Clarity Act.
The bill, which appeared to be on a glide path to passage, got blown up abruptly in January when Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong withdrew support, claiming it unfairly favored the banking industry. This led many in the crypto world to worry the industry had lost critical momentum, and the window to pass the bill this year would close.
Smith acknowledged recent headwinds, but said they were to be expected, especially given that the Clarity Act, she says, is far more complex than the stablecoin bill passed last year.
