The CLARITY Act cleared the Senate Banking Committee with a bipartisan 15-9 vote this week, but the crypto world is anything but united on what should happen next. Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and CIO of Maelstrom, publicly called for President Biden to veto the bill, declaring “We don’t need no regulation.” Meanwhile, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is warning lawmakers that if the bill doesn’t pass before summer recess, the window may close until 2030 or beyond.
The clash over crypto regulation
Hayes didn’t mince words. He argues regulation is structurally incompatible with Bitcoin and decentralized systems — that it only benefits centralized companies, not the underlying technology or its users. To Hayes, the CLARITY Act is a trap dressed as clarity. He maintains Bitcoin’s price is driven by global liquidity conditions and fiat money supply expansion, not by what Congress does. His largest holdings outside Bitcoin are HYPE (Hyperliquid token, with a target of $150 by August 2026) and ZCash (long-term target $10,000).
Garlinghouse’s counter
Garlinghouse sees it differently. He’s been lobbying hard for the bill, warning that the current political moment is fragile. Senator Bernie Moreno described the window as Congress’s last real opportunity before the 2026 midterm calendar complicates everything. Two Democrats crossed the aisle to help the bill out of committee — a rare sign of bipartisan momentum. Garlinghouse says that momentum will evaporate if lawmakers head home for summer break without a floor vote.
The ticking clock
The Senate is staring at a tight schedule. If the CLARITY Act doesn’t reach the floor before the July recess, the chances of passage drop sharply — Garlinghouse says maybe 2030. Hayes, for his part, seems fine with that outcome. He’d rather see the bill die than become law. The question now is whether the bipartisan coalition can hold together long enough to force a vote before the calendar gets buried by campaign season. That answer should come within weeks.
