President Donald Trump has returned to the debate over the structure of the US cryptocurrency market, saying his administration will codify a “future-proof” framework for digital assets as the Senate battle over the CLARITY Act approaches. The letter links the White House’s cryptocurrency agenda to legislation that would define regulatory boundaries for digital assets, exchanges, custodians, stablecoins and derivatives markets.
In a Truth Social post highlighted by Fox Business correspondent Eleanor Terrett, Trump framed the issue as a reflection of the era of Gary Gensler and an attempt to make US cryptocurrency policy more difficult for future regulators to reverse. The post marks the first time Trump has commented publicly on market structure since March, making the timing notable after the Senate Banking Committee advanced the Clarity Act earlier this month, Terrett said.
“Gary Gensler and the ‘anti-crypto army’ almost destroyed the US cryptocurrency industry by driving Bitcoin and crypto enduring innovation abroad, but Trump saved it. America is now the crypto capital of the world, and the builders and entrepreneurs will return to the US where they belong. Under my leadership, we will codify a future-proof digital asset market structure that cannot be undone by crypto haters.”
🚨NEW: President Trump says his administration is building a “future-proof” digital asset market structure that “crypto haters” cannot undo.
This is the first time the president has commented publicly on the structure of the cryptocurrency market since March. pic.twitter.com/7FNN06Vasy
– Eleanor Terret (@EleanorTerrett) May 27, 2026
The post was quickly echoed by Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Mike Selig books “Thanks to POTUS’ leadership, America has become the crypto capital of the world. Bitcoin, lasting cryptocurrencies, and innovation will come to America.”
In Washington, “market structure” is shorthand for the legal structure that determines whether cryptoassets will be treated as securities or commodities, which agencies oversee them, and how trading platforms, brokers, dealers, custodians and issuers are regulated. For cryptocurrency markets, the stakes are high: the framework will shape registration pathways, disclosures, custody rules, consumer protections, anti-money laundering obligations, and market integrity standards.
The broader policy direction has been evident since Trump’s executive order on January 23, 2025, which called for support for the growth of digital assets, self-custody, access to public blockchain, dollar-backed stablecoins, access to fair banking and clearer lines of jurisdiction between regulators. A July 2025 White House Digital Assets Task Force report later recommended that Congress build on CLARITY by giving the CFTC authority over spot markets for non-security digital assets, while directing the SEC and CFTC to clarify registration, custody, trading, and recordkeeping rules.
The stablecoin portion of that agenda has already become law. Trump Sign the GENIUS Act on July 18, 2025, with the White House describing it as the first federal regulatory regime for stablecoins. The law includes a 100% reserve backing with liquid assets such as dollars or short-term treasuries, monthly general reserve disclosures, marketing restrictions and priority claims for stablecoin holders in the event of insolvency.
The unresolved battle is the broader package related to market structure. The House of Representatives passed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or CLARITY Act, in July 2025 by a bipartisan vote of 294-134. the The Senate Banking Committee presented its version On May 14, 2026, by a vote of 15 to 9, the bill was sent to the Senate floor. The committee vote was supported by two Democrats, although those lawmakers have not committed to supporting the final bill.
Crypto’s CLARITY Act heads into Senate battle
The Senate version would create an additional asset class, require initial and semiannual disclosures for certain transactions, and provide a “crypto regulation” exemption from SEC registration for certain additional asset offerings. It will also treat digital goods brokers, traders and exchanges as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act, putting anti-money laundering, customer identification and due diligence programs into the framework.
Trump’s reference to “perpetual cryptocurrencies” points to another part of the agenda: bringing offshore derivatives activity into regulated venues in the United States. Selig said in January that perpetual contracts had become widely used for risk management and price discovery, while arguing that the previous administration had failed to create an internal track for those products. He also said that the CFTC will explore rules for leveraged, margined or financed retail crypto commodity transactions and a potential new registration category for retail leveraged trading.
The bill still faces opposition. Critics have claimed that anti-money laundering provisions are too weak, that political officials should be prohibited from profiting from cryptocurrency projects, and that the CFTC’s expanded authority may not fully address investor protection concerns traditionally addressed by the SEC. Banking groups also weighed in on stablecoin yield language, warning that cryptocurrency companies could compete for deposits through rewards on stablecoin balances.
The timing has become a legislative risk in itself. The CLARITY Act has won approval from the Senate Banking Committee, but has yet to receive a full vote in the Senate, and any final package must still survive unresolved battles over anti-money laundering rules, stablecoin rewards, political conflict provisions, and the division of power between the SEC and CFTC.
The bill must also fit into the shrinking Senate calendar, as lawmakers face summer recess, a fall campaign recess, and the Nov. 3 midterm elections. This leaves a narrow window for crypto-friendly Republicans and Democrats to shift committee momentum into final passage before electoral politics make a complex market structure bill more difficult to move.
At the time of writing, the total market capitalization reached $2.43 trillion.
Featured image created with DALL.E, a chart from TradingView.com
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