The U.S. crypto industry faces its biggest legislative test yet on Sept. 15, when the Senate is scheduled to hold a crucial procedural vote on the CLARITY Act.

Why Shirzad Sees Two Outcomes

Speaking with industry advocate Scott Melker on Sept. 6, Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) policy chief Faryar Shirzad said he remains cautiously optimistic the landmark market-structure bill can advance.

He stated the industry has spent years building enough bipartisan support to get comprehensive crypto regulation within reach.

Coinbase isn’t assuming all 53 Senate Republicans will support the motion, making every Republican defection increase the number of Democratic votes needed.

Shirzad sees two potential outcomes.

Either the bill stalls just short of 60 votes, or enough Democrats join to create what Washington insiders call a "jailbreak," where additional lawmakers feel comfortable voting "yes" once bipartisan support becomes clear.

Trump Ethics Fight Could Decide The Vote

Shirzad expects several remaining disputes, including DeFi provisions and exchange rules, to be resolved.

The biggest risk, in his view, is ethics language involving President Trump’s crypto interests.

Senate Democrats have continued criticizing proposed ethics provisions as insufficient, while Republicans argue the legislation contains meaningful safeguards.

Shirzad said the White House has already accepted restrictions applying specifically to the president, but Democrats may demand additional concessions before supplying the votes needed for cloture.

Stablecoin-related banking concerns could also complicate Republican support, although Shirzad expects the White House to push lawmakers toward a compromise.

What If CLARITY Fails?

Failure wouldn’t stop crypto regulation, Shirzad said.

"If CLARITY doesn’t pass, there’ll be 100-plus rules that the agencies will try to implement," he said, arguing regulators would attempt to replicate much of the framework Congress failed to enact.

He also expects crypto to move deeper into traditional finance through tokenization, stablecoins, perpetual futures and 24/7 markets.

Coinbase aims to become a broader financial platform spanning investing, lending, borrowing and multiple asset classes, regardless of CLARITY Act’s outcome.

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