Crypto Regulation Moved From Theory to Market Force This Week

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee’s vote Thursday (May 14) to advance the Clarity Act marked one of the most consequential regulatory developments for digital assets since the collapse of FTX reignited demands for federal oversight.

The legislation still faces political and procedural hurdles. But it signals a growing bipartisan acknowledgment that what was once viewed as a fringe sector is now treated as a strategic financial and technology industry.

The market response shows how central regulatory clarity has become to crypto valuations. Coinbase shares rallied after the Senate Banking Committee advanced the bill. Broader crypto-linked equities also moved higher. Investors are pricing in the possibility that stablecoins and digital assets may soon operate inside a more predictable U.S. regulatory framework.

That shift matters for both incumbents and startups. Regulatory ambiguity has historically benefited offshore issuers willing to operate aggressively outside U.S. jurisdiction. Clearer rules tend to favor firms with compliance budgets, banking relationships and institutional ambitions. In practice, regulation could accelerate consolidation around a smaller group of large-scale issuers and infrastructure providers.

That reality may define the next phase of FinTech competition. Companies that control stablecoin payment rails, treasury flows and settlement infrastructure could become foundational players in global commerce. The parallel is apt: card networks and correspondent banks dominated the previous generation of payments in much the same way.

Still, crypto and digital assets represent a barely visible slice of global financial services. The challenge ahead remains formidable.

Read more: CLARITY Act Advances as Crypto Oversight Debate Continues

How Stablecoins Are Competing With Traditional Payment Infrastructure

The crypto industry’s narrative has shifted. It is no longer centered on trading tokens. It is now centered on controlling transaction infrastructure. Cross-border settlement, merchant payments, treasury operations and embedded finance are the primary battlegrounds. Those are the areas where stablecoins promise to deliver economic advantages over legacy systems.

On Monday (May 11), corporate payments company Corpay launched a collaboration with stablecoin infrastructure platform BVNK. The partnership aims to offer Corpay customers stablecoin wallets and settlement capabilities.

This is also why the fight over stablecoin yield became politically sensitive. Banks recognize that if stablecoin issuers begin functioning like deposit-taking institutions, portions of traditional banking economics could migrate onto blockchain rails. The compromise emerging in Washington — allowing usage-based rewards while restricting passive interest payments — reflects an attempt to prevent stablecoins from replacing bank deposits while still enabling innovation.

Traditional banking groups are intensifying pressure on lawmakers as they recognize the competitive implications.

“The banking industry continues to believe that the Clarity Act should be strengthened further by tightening the prohibition on interest-like rewards for holding stablecoin while also allowing certain payment stablecoin transactions and activities to generate rewards. Without the necessary guardrails, stablecoin offerings are expected to draw away bank deposits and threaten local lending and economic activity across the country. In that spirit, we will continue to work with senators in good faith to address this issue and improve the bill and its chances on the Senate floor,” said a coalition of banking industry groups in a statement shared with PYMNTS.

The geopolitical dimension also matters. The United States is no longer debating crypto regulation in isolation. The European Union, Singapore, Hong Kong and the UAE are all building digital asset frameworks to attract capital and innovation. The Bank of England announced Thursday that it is planning to relax its stablecoin restrictions following pushback from cryptocurrency companies.

See also: Stablecoins’ Shadow FX Market Is Becoming a Corporate Treasury Issue

Why Venture Capital Is Betting on Digital Asset Infrastructure

The venture capital and crypto funding environment reflects growing confidence that regulation is moving toward normalization rather than prohibition. Venture investors are unlikely to finance stablecoin banking infrastructure if they believe the underlying business model faces existential regulatory risk.

Neobank Fasset on Thursday raised $51 million to expand its stablecoin-focused banking platform to emerging markets. PYMNTS wrote last month about the rising popularity of stablecoins in emerging markets and the compliance issues that follow as they go mainstream.

Blockchain analytics company Elliptic on Tuesday (May 12) raised $120 million to expand its analytics services for big banks, FinTechs, government agencies and crypto and payment companies.

PYMNTS spoke last year with Liat Shetret, Elliptic’s then-vice president of global policy and regulation, about the changing crypto landscape in the U.S.

“Up until a few months ago, we saw almost reconnaissance missions of crypto businesses looking in other jurisdictions,” Shetret said. “They were leaving the U.S., and they were looking at Europe, they were looking at Asia, they were looking at the Caribbean. They were looking at all these different jurisdictions to find regulatory clarity, to find regulatory understanding,” she added.

Why Stablecoins Still Haven’t Solved the Merchant Payments Problem

Even as institutional infrastructure expands, the industry is still searching for a mainstream breakthrough in merchant payments. Transaction volumes have soared. Major financial institutions have entered the market. Several jurisdictions have clarified their regulations. But stablecoins have yet to deliver the frictionless experience consumers associate with modern payments.

PYMNTS spoke recently with WalletConnect CEO Jess Houlgrave, who said the tokens have the infrastructure they need to scale. But they still don’t offer a payment experience users can trust.

“We’ve gotten to this stage, predominantly actually over the last 18 months, where the technology is ready,” Houlgrave said in an interview posted Wednesday (May 13). “Liquidity is deep. I can move in and out of different assets between fiat and stablecoins easily. The enablers are there.”

“About 76% of users had abandoned a crypto payment in the last six months,” Houlgrave said, citing new research. “They’ve tried to pay with crypto and couldn’t.”