Trump Touts Clarity Act With Crypto Executives. Why CME Group Stock Is Tanking. — Barrons.com

By Joe LightWith the chances of Congress passing an industry friendly bill this year slipping away, crypto firms are more dependent than ever on President Donald Trump and his regulators.On Wednesday, Trump, regulators, and crypto executives essentially held a rally for the digital assets industry and made the case for Congress to pass the so-called Clarity Act, an industry-friendly bill that would put most crypto trading outside the purview of securities laws.The meeting included top officials from the government, tech, and crypto worlds. Participants included Coinbase Global CEO Brian Armstrong, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, Robinhood Markets CEO Vlad Tenev, and Intercontinental Exchange CEO Jeffrey Sprecher, among other executives. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins also attended."We need Congress to take the next step by passing the Clarity Act," Trump said, calling it "very, very powerful" and arguing that it would "keep us ahead of China, keep us ahead of everyone else."At the meeting, Trump also said that Selig was working to bring to the U.S. Hyperliquid, an exchange that offers "perpetual futures" in oil, gold, and other assets. Shares of CME Group, which operates a traditional futures exchange, fell 3.3% to $262.44 after Trump's remarks.The White House event is happening the day before the CFTC holds the first meeting of its Innovation Advisory Committee, which Selig formed in January. The CFTC meeting is expected to focus on crypto, prediction markets, and artificial intelligence.Wednesday's meeting at the White House featured several officials, including Armstrong, Atkins, and Trump, who called on Congress to pass the Clarity Act, which the Senate is set to vote on in mid-September. The bill, which would put most crypto trading under the purview of the CFTC, stalled earlier this month.Moving the Clarity Act across the finish line is a long shot this year. Democrats have opposed the bill in part because of Trump's own crypto investments. World Liberty Financial, the crypto firm that Trump co-founded, received a critical banking approval from Trump's Treasury Department last week, which will increase pressure on Democrats to hold the line on strengthening ethics provisions of the bill.Before the Senate left on its August recess, some Republicans also said they opposed the bill on concerns expressed by community bankers that it would encourage deposits to leave for crypto accounts. The Republican hesitancy is something Trump can help with, but since the bill would need at least 60 votes to avoid a Senate filibuster, it won't be enough unless Democrats give up some of their demands.If Clarity remains stuck, crypto firms will be even more reliant on the SEC, CFTC, and Trump to give them through regulation what Congress is unable to deliver.The SEC on Tuesday proposed rules to give firms guidance on how to raise money through crypto token offerings. It's also expected to released a separate plan that could pave the way for tokenized stocks, bonds and other traditional assets.Rules can take months to years to be proposed and finalized. With a little more than two years left in the Trump administration, it will be important to crypto firms for the regulators to get going on the proposals lest a less crypto-friendly president enter the White House.Even then, a new SEC could decide to reverse course, but finalized rules take time to undo, and agencies are generally reluctant to dramatically change the rules if the industry has already adapted to them.Write to Joe Light at [email protected] content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.