Tom Lee, chairman of Bitmine, stated on CNBC Monday that the cryptocurrency market is bouncing back thanks to growing acceptance overseas. He explained that new regulations similar to the CLARITY Act are being considered in Europe, Japan, and Russia, and this is driving positive movement in the market.
Lee predicts that once this technology arrives in the United States, it will dramatically boost the market, effectively turning money into a form of programmable software.
As I’ve been researching, a key shift with cryptocurrency is that it’s essentially transforming money into a form of software. This has huge implications, because it means almost anything *could* become a form of currency. I foresee things like loyalty rewards and even your online reputation starting to function more like actual money, and this will be particularly interesting when combined with the rise of AI agents – which I believe are one of the most promising applications of crypto technology.
This is why CLARITY Act matters more than many realize
— Thomas (Tom) Lee (not drummer) FundstratDirect.com (@fundstrat) July 27, 2026
Key Crypto Bill Still In Limbo
Samara Cohen, a senior leader at BlackRock responsible for market development, agreed, calling the move “an important step in creating rules for digital assets that prioritize investor protection.”
She explained the bill aims to modernize the US financial markets, encouraging new ideas while maintaining the safeguards that ensure fairness, stability, and investor confidence, ultimately keeping the US at the forefront of global finance.
The CLARITY Act received widespread support from both Democrats and Republicans when it passed the House in July 2025. It then moved forward after being approved by the Senate Banking Committee on May 14, 2026.
Recent talks have focused on rules to prevent the president and members of Congress from trading or promoting digital assets like cryptocurrencies. A draft of a bill released by the Senate on July 22nd included these ethics guidelines.
Senator John Thune, the Senate’s majority leader, stated on July 23rd that it’s unlikely the bill will be voted on before the Senate breaks for summer. The primary issue holding things up continues to be concerns about ethics.
Because a vote hasn’t been scheduled yet, the bill needs to pass the Senate before its August break, around August 7th, to have a chance of becoming law in 2026. If it misses that deadline, it will likely be delayed until after the midterm elections or even until 2027.
Anne Kelley, a policy relations consultant, explained that the required steps in the process are making it very hard to complete everything before the break.
We understand a lot of people were hoping things would be resolved by early August, but that doesn’t mean our work on this is finished for the year.
Opposition Wants More Concessions
From my observations, while it seems like many compromises were already made regarding the bill, opponents are still pushing for further concessions. Despite this, I remain optimistic that a resolution is still possible – anything could happen at this point.
Lee also shared a list of major financial firms backing the CLARITY Act, including Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and Charles Schwab. He urged Congress to pass the bill, stating, “Congress needs to act and pass this bill.”
2026-07-28 09:05