Faryar Shirzad, Chief Policy Officer at Coinbase, said Friday that the Clarity Act will likely pass despite opposition from some Democrats, citing strong bipartisan backing on the bill’s core provisions.
Speaking on The Hill’s Rising show, Shirzad characterized cryptocurrency regulation as “maybe the most bipartisan issue in Washington” and described the bill as “extraordinarily bipartisan.” He noted that 67 million Americans own crypto, framing digital asset policy as a mainstream concern.
Shirzad attributed Democratic resistance to generational divides. “A lot of the opposition is generational, so it is Democrats who oppose it, but I think younger members who understand the technology, understand that money is transforming how we should engage financially, how we need to adapt, and so it’s really a generational shift,” he said.
Ethics and nominations resolved
The Clarity Act aims to establish federal digital asset regulation. A new draft circulating in July 2026 bans officials and their families from issuing or promoting cryptocurrency, addressing ethics concerns that had previously stalled the bill.
Banking industry concerns had contributed to the deadlock. Banking chiefs raised concerns that if crypto exchanges offer attractive yields to customers, banks could lose their deposit base. The latest draft appears designed to address those concerns alongside ethics issues.
Shirzad said the bill had cleared key hurdles. “We’ve got ethics nailed down, we’ve got nominations nailed down, we’ve got a bipartisan bill on the substance, we should be good to go,” he said.
Remaining disagreement
Not all Democrats view the bill favorably. A group of Democrats said last week that the bill in its current form falls short, signaling continued resistance despite the revised draft.
The bill has faced deadlock throughout 2026, with competing concerns from banking and crypto sectors shaping negotiations. Shirzad’s comments suggest momentum toward passage, though the unnamed Democratic opposition indicates the path remains contested.
