US banks need clarity on crypto regulation the most, according to Chris Giancarlo, former chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, who claims they have lagged behind the rest of the world in payments innovation.
During an episode of Scott Melker The Wolf of All Streets Podcast On Sunday, Giancarlo said that the crypto industry will continue to build even if the Senate does not pass the crypto market structure bill. However, banks will be hesitant to invest in technology without clear rules.
“However, banks cannot afford regulatory uncertainty. Their general counsel is telling their boards, you can’t invest billions of dollars in this … if you don’t have regulatory certainty. Banks need this more than crypto,” he said.
“I think this is the new architecture of finance and America, our financial institutions are the dominant financial institutions in the world. We have to modernize it. We have to embrace this technology.”
US banks will fall if they wait too long in crypto
A bill to structure the crypto market, known as the CLARITY Act, has been delayed in the Senate because banks, crypto companies and lawmakers have yet to agree on key provisions such as allowing stablecoin mining.
Giancarlo warned that if U.S. banks delay adopting crypto, other countries in Asia and Europe will move ahead and leave the U.S. banking system behind.
“Digital relays will be built. And then American banks will say, what happened here? Our analog system, which is identity-based, message-based, doesn’t work anywhere outside the U.S., we have to modernize. They’re going to be left behind,” he said.
“Banks need this clarity because they need to build this, they need to be at the forefront, not the gatekeepers, of this innovation,” Giancarlo added.
CLARITY The failure of the document can help to solve the problem
According to Congress, the bill on the structure of the crypto market in July 2025 passed the House of Representatives and was sent to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs before the full Senate vote.
related to: The crypto industry has been divided since Coinbase broke ranks over the CLARITY Act
If the bill passes the Senate, it will be sent to US President Donald Trump for his signature. If it fails or is not signed, Giancarlo said the SEC and CFTC leaders will likely set the rules on their own.
“If it doesn’t work, I’m sure that under leaders like Paul Atkins at the SEC and Mike Selig at the CFTC, they’re going to write the same rules that do it now. They’re not going to support legislation that will make it work forever, or at least during the next presidential term, but it will work now,” he said.
“Now, does that give the industry the certainty they want? No. And who needs that certainty more than the banks? Crypto doesn’t need it. They were even building under Gary Gensler’s whip.”
Magazine: Would Bitcoin Really Be $200K If Not For Jane Street? Trade secret
