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All right, so we're just about of time, but I do want to touch on the other big topic of the day, Clarity Act. As Yogi Berra once said, it's starting to get late, early. And as we're speaking right now, I believe there is a meeting happening at the White House between President Trump, his chief of staff Susie Wiles, some Republican senators that have been involved in negotiations, and I think Kristen Smith, the president of the Blockchain Association. And they're really going to try to hammer out some sort of agreement on ethics, which is a key, I guess, key linchpin to get any sort of Democratic support for the bill to pass. For anyone watching who's not familiar with the legislative process, for this type of bill and most Senate bills to go into law, you do need to get 60 votes, which means I believe you need at least seven Democrats. One version of the Senate banking bill got out of committee by on a bipartisan basis. But the two Democratic senators who voted for it said that they more or less voted for it in good faith to continue negotiations on things such as ethics and that their votes on a full floor vote are not guaranteed. And we're actually awaiting a new version of the Senate bill any day. Few sources I talked to said it could be as early as tomorrow or maybe more likely on Monday. But I mean, this would be if this meeting goes well and there's a way forward, and then it does look like we could see Clarity get passed into law before the August 7 deadline. I mean, that would be the catalyst for the rocket fuel that you were just making. And in my opinion, I mean, no one wanted to go through all the tumult that's been involved in negotiating this very comprehensive bill. But maybe the silver lining is that at least this could be one bullish instance where it's not a buy the rumor sell the news because the, the rumor has been guess, quote, unquote dissipating, and the news could come quickly. So this won't necessarily be a repeat of when Coinbase went public in, in 2021. Perhaps it's more like when or when President Trump actually became president. That's when the market kind of crusted. Maybe it's more like when the ETFs went live and I guess it was what, January 2024. Is that when I always get my years mixed up? But I just wanted to get your, I wanted to get your thoughts on. I know you're not a policy wonk. This isn't what you do, but I'm sure you're seeing traders positioning for all sorts of outcomes here, and this one is binary and it could be coming up soon. So what are you saying?
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Well, in the long term, it would be really important to get legislation passed. And, and it's, it's painful to think about any time that the industry or other industries might have wasted in the past to get us where we are today. You're right. I'm not a policy wonk. And we do have some really smart and sharp people at GSR who have a much keener sense of the details. But my kind of, you know, zoom out, take is the longer something takes to happen, the less chance, you know, the less chance it'll, it, it'll get done. We're in a time period frame now where we need almost zero distractions and a pretty solid tailwind to get that much done in three weeks. Poly market odds were at 75% in May, and now they're are at little under 40%, I think. And they've, and they've come down kind of linearly, which just, you know, speak to this. Every day that it's not done is a day, is a day wasted. The ethics question, it's hard for me to not think of that as a delicious political nugget that, that some people want to kind of wrap up and take home with them to, to eat another day. To point to the President's, you know, personal interest in, in digital assets and of course, the disclosure a couple of weeks ago of that he's made well clear of a billion dollars between himself and his family is, Is, you know, is, is, is, is red meat for the Democrats. It's important that it gets done. I, I do think at this point, the reason that it would be a good support for the market is it would be a surprise. I do think the market would take it as a surprise. That passage takes place. It's not going to be a Yep, thought so. No big deal. We expected this. I don't think it's priced in right now. And so surprise is one of the most powerful, I guess emotions that can, that can help fuel either up or down moves in prices. So passage would be a surprise and I think it would be hard to imagine a market that doesn't experience some some lift.
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Episode: How a Surprise Clarity Act Vote Could Move Crypto Prices
Host: Laura Shin
Date: July 18, 2026
This episode dives into the high-stakes political drama surrounding the "Clarity Act," a comprehensive piece of cryptocurrency legislation currently under negotiation in the US Senate. With a critical White House meeting underway, Laura Shin and her guest discuss the bill's uncertain fate and its potential impact on crypto markets, emphasizing the importance of bipartisan support and the possibility of a market-moving surprise if the bill passes.
Current Negotiations:
Legislative Hurdles:
"For anyone watching who's not familiar with the legislative process, for this type of bill and most Senate bills to go into law, you do need to get 60 votes, which means I believe you need at least seven Democrats."
— Laura Shin (00:37)
Comparison to Previous Crypto Milestones:
Guest’s Perspective on Legislative Momentum:
"The longer something takes to happen, the less chance, you know, the less chance it'll, it, it'll get done. We're in a time period frame now where we need almost zero distractions and a pretty solid tailwind to get that much done in three weeks."
— Guest (03:16)
"The ethics question, it's hard for me to not think of that as a delicious political nugget that, that some people want to kind of wrap up and take home with them to, to eat another day."
— Guest (03:56)
"I do think at this point, the reason that it would be a good support for the market is it would be a surprise...I don't think it's priced in right now. And so surprise is one of the most powerful, I guess emotions that can, that can help fuel either up or down moves in prices."
— Guest (04:30)
On Legislative Urgency:
"Every day that it's not done is a day, is a day wasted."
— Guest (03:38)
On Political Gamesmanship:
"It's hard for me to not think of [the ethics issue] as a delicious political nugget..."
— Guest (03:56)
On the Power of Surprise in Markets:
"Surprise is one of the most powerful, I guess emotions that can, that can help fuel either up or down moves in prices."
— Guest (04:30)
The episode offers a timely, inside look at the legislative wrangling over the Clarity Act, with sharp analysis of the political, ethical, and market dynamics at play. Both Laura Shin and her guest stress the potential for a true surprise moment, one that could sharply impact crypto prices if the bill passes pre-August 7, given that the outcome is far from certain and not factored into current valuations. The conversation underscores how political developments and legislative strategy remain as critical to the future of crypto as technological innovation.