Crypto policy week: Clarity Act stalls, banks sue over OCC trust charters
Congress leaves for its pre-election recess with the Clarity Act stuck, community banks take the OCC to court, and OKX and ICE file for 24/7 tokenized stocks.
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US crypto legislation is on hold until after the election. Congress has left Washington for its final recess before the November vote, CoinDesk notes, and the Clarity Act is stuck after a setback in the Senate.
That has not stopped the deals. Crypto mergers and acquisitions have hit record levels, CoinDesk reports, and dealmakers are now weighing how much the regulatory uncertainty still matters.
Lobbying continues
The industry is not waiting quietly. A newly registered lobbying operation for Zcash lists the CLARITY Act and two digital asset tax proposals among its issues, according to Cointelegraph.
Community banks take the OCC to court
The fight has moved to the courts. The Independent Community Bankers of America has sued to block the national trust charters that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency grants to crypto firms, Decrypt reports. The group argues the charters give crypto firms a "side door into the banking system" without the safeguards that bind traditional banks.
Tokenized stocks, around the clock
OKXICE, a joint venture of the exchange OKX and NYSE owner Intercontinental Exchange, has filed to offer 24/7 trading in tokenized US stocks, CoinDesk reports. The plan relies on the SEC's new innovation exemption. Cointelegraph adds that the platform wants to list tokenized shares of more than 60 US-listed companies.
A familiar name for AI policy
President Trump named Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to lead a new "Super Intelligence Force" that will coordinate federal AI policy, Decrypt reports. Crypto readers know Clayton from his time as SEC chair, when the agency launched its case against Ripple. Cointelegraph's weekly digest notes that parts of the XRP community are unhappy with the pick.
Around the world
| Country | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| El Salvador | Received $138 million from the IMF after Bitcoin-related waivers | Cointelegraph |
| Japan | Added the exchange Garantex to its Russia sanctions list | Cointelegraph |
| Russia | Finance Ministry paid wages in digital rubles for the first time | Cointelegraph |
| Switzerland | Investor Greenfield Capital asked the regulator to step into a Safe governance dispute | Cointelegraph |
On El Salvador, the IMF said efforts will continue to reduce the state's involvement in Bitcoin-related activities and to strengthen crypto-asset regulation, per Cointelegraph. Garantex was already under sanctions from the US, the EU and others for helping Russian entities evade financial restrictions, Cointelegraph notes.
Why it matters for prices
Together, these stories show where policy risk sits: US rules will not change before November, while courts, foreign governments and big exchanges keep shaping the market in the meantime. For today's price action, see our bitcoin market recap.
What to watch next
- The election. CoinDesk frames November as the next turning point for crypto policy.
- The ICBA lawsuit. It targets the OCC charter route that crypto firms use to enter banking.
- OKXICE. Its filing tests how far the SEC's innovation exemption reaches.
Track BTC/USD on TradingView for the market's reaction.
How we make this article: software gathers the market data and the news from the sources linked in the article, then cross-checks them. AI writes the text. People choose the sources, set the rules and run the process. Not investment advice.