What Is IND

On September 14, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming, took to the X platform to urge her colleagues to pass the CLARITY Act. She stated that tomorrow her colleagues will face a choice: to choose American leadership, genuine consumer protection, and provide law enforcement with the tools needed to combat illegal financial activities, or to drive the digital asset industry overseas, leaving consumers vulnerable and marginalizing U.S. leadership. Lummis emphasized that although everyone knows no other country can regulate this industry as effectively as the U.S., the choice remains clear. She pointed out that the CLARITY Act is right in front of them, and such an opportunity will not come again for years, urging them to seize the moment and get it done. A procedural vote on the bill is scheduled for September 15 at 3 PM Eastern Time.

On September 14, Miles Jennings, head of crypto policy at a16z, stated that nearly four years after the FTX collapse, the U.S. Congress has yet to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework to prevent similar frauds from occurring again. He urged the Senate to advance the CLARITY Act and warned that if the status quo continues, the next major risk in the crypto market could have a more significant impact. Jennings believes that the FTX failure was not due to complex financial innovations, but rather the misappropriation of customer assets and the lack of basic safeguards such as independent custody, asset segregation, information disclosure, and regulatory oversight. The CLARITY Act would bring digital asset brokers, dealers, and exchanges under regulatory oversight, introducing mechanisms already present in traditional financial markets, such as customer asset segregation, qualified custody, restrictions on conflicts of interest, mandatory disclosures, listing standards, and insider sale restrictions. In response to claims that the CLARITY Act represents a relaxation of regulations for the crypto industry, Jennings argued that existing U.S. laws fail to clearly define the regulatory attributes of a large number of digital assets, and this regulatory gap has provided space for offshore exchanges like FTX. He also countered objections regarding the ethics of the crypto industry and stablecoin yields, stating that the latest bill has limited passive stablecoin yields and allows the Treasury to take further action if evidence of deposit outflows arises. Jennings emphasized that the supply of stablecoins has exceeded $300 billion, and the scale of tokenized assets has surpassed $30 billion, with major financial institutions like BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and Goldman Sachs already investing in digital assets. He stated that the digital asset market is no longer a fringe part of the financial system, and the U.S. needs to establish long-term, stable regulatory rules through legislation rather than relying on administrative agencies to constantly adjust policies with changes in government. The Senate is set to vote on whether to initiate consideration of the CLARITY Act on September 15, stating, 'If we don't act now, the next crisis could be even bigger.'

On September 14, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis urged her colleagues to support the CLARITY Act, stating that the Senate will face a critical choice tomorrow: to solidify America's leadership in the digital asset space, enhance consumer protection, and provide law enforcement with the necessary tools to combat illegal financial activities, or to allow the crypto industry to move overseas. Lummis noted that if the U.S. fails to establish a clear regulatory framework for digital assets in a timely manner, American consumers will face greater risks, and the country's leadership in this field may be weakened. She emphasized that no other country can regulate the digital asset industry as effectively as the U.S. Lummis highlighted that the CLARITY Act is currently before the Senate, and such legislative opportunities may not arise again in the coming years, thus urging the current chance to push the bill forward.