Cardano CEO Crashes Out As CLARITY Act Get's 'Sabotaged'

A major legislative rift has fractured the cryptocurrency industry as the proposed CLARITY Act faces an indefinite delay following the withdrawal of support from Coinbase and intense criticism from Cardano leadership. While Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has advocated for passing imperfect legislation to establish a regulatory baseline, opponents including Charles Hoskinson and Brian Armstrong argue the current draft effectively hands a monopoly to traditional banks and stifles decentralized innovation.

Key Points

• Legislative Stalled: The CLARITY Act markup has been postponed after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong publicly withdrew support, citing restrictive measures on DeFi and stablecoin yields.
• Leadership Divide: Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson sharply criticized Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse for supporting a "flawed" bill, arguing that regulatory chaos is preferable to codified restriction.
• Bank Monopoly Concerns: Critics warn the bill bans tokenized stocks, regulates DeFi like traditional banking, and restricts yield-bearing products to banks only.
• Institutional Adoption: Despite regulatory uncertainty, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) announced a new platform for 24/7 trading and instant settlement of tokenized securities.
• Market Growth: Binance’s 2025 year-in-review report reveals the exchange has surpassed 300 million registered users, with daily trading volumes up 18%.

Industry Titans Clash Over Regulatory Framework

The debate over the CLARITY Act has exposed a fundamental philosophical divide among crypto executives: pragmatism versus idealism. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has gone on record supporting the pending market structure bill, maintaining that the industry urgently requires legislative rules to mature, even if the initial framework is flawed.

"Clarity is always better than chaos, and the industry needs clarity... Is it perfect? No. Certainly not. But is it better than nothing? Absolutely. You pass it. You own it forever."

However, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson rejected this approach in a blistering rebuttal, arguing that codifying bad laws creates permanent damage that is nearly impossible to reverse. Hoskinson drew parallels to the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, noting that nearly a century later, the industry is still struggling to update archaic frameworks.

"Sorry Brad. It's not better than chaos. Take the chaos and fight for what's right. Fight for integrity. I didn't sign up to hand the revolution to 15 banks... to live in a world where everything is a custodial wallet."

The "Bad Bill" Controversy

The legislative momentum collapsed after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong pulled his endorsement, aligning with the sentiment that "no bill is better than a bad bill." The current draft of the CLARITY Act includes provisions that have alarmed privacy advocates and DeFi proponents. Specifically, the bill reportedly bans tokenized stocks, subjects decentralized finance protocols to bank-like compliance, and expands the SEC’s authority.

Crucially, the legislation threatens to ban stablecoin yields for individual investors while preserving that ability for banks, effectively creating a yield monopoly for traditional financial institutions. Consequently, the Senate committee has postponed the markup, with lawmakers from both parties acknowledging the need to return to the negotiating table.

NYSE Advances Tokenization Despite Legislative Gridlock

While Washington struggles to define the rules, traditional finance is moving forward with blockchain integration. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has announced the development of a fully tokenized trading venue. Unlike previous attempts to retrofit existing back-office systems, this new platform offers 24/7 operations, instant settlement, and native digital security issuance.

The platform will utilize stablecoin-based funding rather than traditional bank wires, signaling a major shift in how equities markets operate. Analysts suggest the NYSE will likely utilize the same blockchains recently leveraged by the White House for economic data distribution—a list that includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche—marking a significant validation of public ledger infrastructure.

Market Growth and Future Outlook

Amidst the political turmoil, user adoption continues to accelerate. Binance released its 2025 annual report, highlighting that the platform has grown to over 300 million registered users. The exchange reported an 18% increase in average daily trading volume and a 30% rise in Binance Pay usage, indicating that utility is growing alongside speculation.

Discussions regarding the CLARITY Act are expected to continue at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where leaders from the banking, tech, and crypto sectors are convening. Coinbase has indicated it will continue working on market structure legislation to find a "win-win" solution, but until the deadlock over stablecoin yields and DeFi regulation is resolved, the U.S. regulatory landscape remains in flux.