Why banks and offshore hubs like Dubai are winners of the Senate killing the Clarity Act

The Senate’s failure to advance the Clarity Act in a 49-50 cloture vote leaves the United States without the federal market-structure law many in the crypto industry had sought. With the bill stalled, market participants will continue to face a regulatory environment shaped primarily by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission through their existing authorities, interpretations and rulemaking processes. Experts and industry figures said the outcome effectively benefited U.S. banks in their dispute with crypto firms over whether stablecoin platforms should be permitted to offer yield-like rewards that could compete with bank deposits. Anton Golub, head of exchange go-to-market at Forte, told reporters that “banks won this round,” arguing that banks increasingly view stablecoins as competitors for deposits. Regulatory agencies moved quickly after the Senate vote. The SEC issued a temporary conditional exemption permitting eligible venues to trade tokenized U.S. stocks via permissioned liquidity pools on public blockchains, while the CFTC transmitted a new crypto rules proposal to the White House for review; agency officials have not disclosed the proposal’s scope or specifics. Observers also noted geopolitical and competitive implications: jurisdictions that have already implemented clear virtual-asset frameworks are positioned to attract businesses, capital and talent while major markets continue to debate policy. Dubai-based crypto lawyer Irina Heaver pointed to the UAE’s progress — more than 110 regulated virtual-asset firms operating there and roughly 20 with in-principle approvals — and said every year of delay in major markets becomes an opportunity for such hubs to gain a competitive advantage. Voices within the industry emphasized that congressional action remains the preferred route for a comprehensive, durable framework. Kyle Bligen of the Decentralization Research Center described Congress as “the best route to a comprehensive market structure framework,” and called the Senate’s vote disappointing even as agency-driven regulation now appears likely to dominate in the near term.