U.S. President Donald Trump’s senior crypto advisor, Patrick Witt, is confident that the highly anticipated crypto market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, will pass in the Senate soon. The Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors on Digital Assets cited strong political momentum and bipartisan support as reasons.
Witt, who succeeded Bo Hines as the President’s advisor on digital assets late last year, said it is a matter of “when” and not “if” the bill will become law.
Clarity Act likely to pass, says Trump crypto advisor Patrick Witt
Witt’s remarks came in a lengthy X post, where he reiterated that “no bill is better than a bad bill” and that he is privileged to be working with the pro-crypto administration that President Trump has assembled. According to him, assuming that a multi-trillion-dollar industry can continue to operate “indefinitely” without comprehensive regulation is “pure fantasy”.
Witt urged lawmakers to take advantage of the opportunity to pass the CLARITY Act, noting that with a pro-crypto President, Republican control of Congress, “excellent” regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to write the rules, and a “healthy industry,” the timing is ideal to advance the legislation. He warned that if Republicans “fumble the ball,” it would allow the Democrats to draft harsher legislation in the wake of a future financial crisis.
“No bill is better than a bad bill.”
— Patrick Witt (@patrickjwitt) January 21, 2026
What a privilege it is to be able to say those words thanks to President Trump’s victory, and the pro-crypto administration he has assembled.
But let’s not kid ourselves. There *will* be a crypto market structure bill — it’s a question of…
He wrote,
“You might not love every part of the CLARITY Act, but I can guarantee you’ll hate a future Dem version even more,”
The CLARITY Act is a federal bill passed in the House of Representatives in July 2025 to establish a clear regulatory framework for crypto assets. It aims to resolve long-standing uncertainty over whether digital assets are classified as securities, regulated by the SEC, or commodities, overseen by the CFTC. It categorizes digital assets into digital commodities, investment contract assets, and permitted payment stablecoins.
Digital commodities are defined as crypto assets that are intrinsically linked to a blockchain system, with their value derived from usage of the network – such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Investment contract assets are defined as digital commodities that can be exclusively possessed and transferred peer-to-peer without an intermediary, and the transactions are recorded on the blockchain. They are essentially treated as securities and fall under the jurisdiction of the SEC, as they are typically used in a capital-raising context, such as an initial coin offering (ICO).
Meanwhile, permitted payment stablecoins are digital assets designed to serve as a means of payment or settlement, denominated in a national currency, and backed on a one-to-one basis by eligible reserve assets. These tokens must be issued by a permitted issuer, such as subsidiaries of insured depository institutions, federally approved non-bank issuers, or state-licensed issuers.
He added that compromises will need to be made to secure the 60 votes necessary for the bill to pass in the Senate, while requesting Senators to work together to improve the final draft. Witt’s comments reflect growing frustration among crypto industry players over certain provisions in the CLARITY Act. The White House crypto advisor criticised the idea of holding out for a perfect bill, arguing that “perfect should not be the enemy of the good.”
Coinbase Drops Support For Crypto Bill, Warns Of Government Reach Into DeFi
American crypto giant Coinbase has withdrawn its support for the legislation due to concerns over key provisions in the Senate’s revised draft, which the company argues would harm innovation, privacy, and market structure for the U.S. crypto industry. The core issue surrounds the draft’s proposed ban on yield-bearing stablecoins, which would prevent platforms like Coinbase from offering interest-like returns to users holding tokens such as USDC. This feature is a major revenue driver for the company, with projections of over $1 billion in stablecoin-related revenue in 2025.
WATCH – Banks vs Coinbase: The Fight Over Stablecoins & Crypto Market Structure | Bitcoin Policy Hour Ep. 25 🇺🇸@bitcoinpolicy analyzes Brian Armstrong of Coinbase’s role in the latest crypto market structure drama, the crypto economy's growing political capital, and why "no… pic.twitter.com/zHxktxEIKs
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) January 21, 2026
The company claims the draft would impose a de facto ban on tokenized equities and introduce unlimited government access to decentralized finance (DeFi) transaction data, undermining the privacy and open architecture of public blockchain networks. CEO Brian Armstrong said the bill would “break” key parts of market structure and create more regulatory harm than clarity.
Clarity Act Heads For Senate Markup, President Trump Expects To Sign Bill Into Law “Very Soon”
The CLARITY Act has advanced to the Senate Agriculture Committee markup, which is scheduled for January 27. This is a crucial step in the legislative process, where senators will review, debate, and amend the bill’s provisions before deciding to send it to the full Senate for a floor vote. The markup follows the release of the final legislative text on January 21.
Lawmakers are expected to focus on digital asset classification, investor protections, implementation timelines, and preemption of conflicting state rules. The bill has garnered bipartisan support, with Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Democrat Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) playing key roles in shaping the legislation. If approved, the CLARITY Act will proceed to the full Senate and potentially be sent to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law.
During his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, Trump said he hopes to sign the coveted crypto market structure bill “very soon,” adding pressure on lawmakers to reach consensus before the markup.
The President said.
“Now Congress is working very hard on crypto market structure legislation, which I hope to sign very soon, unlocking new pathways to reach financial freedom,”
