Bob Diamond has identified Circle and Hyperliquid as the primary infrastructure winners of the CLARITY Act, but the bill faces seven roadblocks before a Senate vote.
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Circle, Hyperliquid named CLARITY Act winners as Senate faces 7 roadblocks
Bob Diamond has identified Circle and Hyperliquid as the primary infrastructure winners of the CLARITY Act, but the bill faces seven roadblocks before a Senate vote.
The CLARITY Act would hand Circle and Hyperliquid a regulatory moat over stablecoin rivals, but seven Senate roadblocks and a shrinking calendar threaten passage before the August recess.
Bob Diamond, the former Barclays chief executive, identified Circle and Hyperliquid as the primary infrastructure winners of the legislation, according to a report published Aug. 1.
Circle, the issuer of USDC, has already secured a limited purpose trust charter from the New York Department of Financial Services and received approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank. USDC's market capitalization exceeds $71.8 billion, and Circle's stock traded at $64.24 on Friday.
The Senate has until Aug. 7 — the last working day before its summer recess — to advance the bill. September offers only 14 working days before the midterm campaign season begins, leaving a thin window for a bill that took a year to negotiate.
Wall Street lines up behind the bill
BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Goldman Sachs and SoFi have all publicly endorsed the legislation in recent days. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said the bill "is not perfect" but would create "a level playing field to enhance market stability." JPMorgan has taken a different stance, backing changes opposed by Coinbase over stablecoin yield provisions.
The endorsements come as Senate negotiators unveiled updated legislative text that merges House and Senate proposals and, for the first time, outlined how ethics restrictions for senior government officials involved with crypto could work.
Seven senators hold the key
Seven Democrats — Catherine Cortez Masto, Angela Alsobrooks, Cory Booker, Ruben Gallego, John Hickenlooper, Mark Warner and Raphael Warnock — rejected the current text in a joint statement on July 22. All seven voted for the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin law, in June 2025. Republicans hold 53 seats, so they need seven Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold to break a filibuster.
The fight centers on ethics language. Senate Banking's minority staff reviewed President Trump's financial disclosures and found more than $1.4 billion in crypto income for 2025 alone. World Liberty Financial supplied $799 million, and the $TRUMP meme coin added another $636 million. Senator Elizabeth Warren called the bill "dead on arrival" over what she called holes in the ethics provisions.
The House passed a different version of the bill 294-134 in July 2025, and it must now accept the Senate's 300-page draft text or negotiate a compromise. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has shifted the chamber's focus to judicial nominations and a Russia sanctions package, leaving the Clarity Act waiting for floor time.
If the bill passes, compliant platforms like Circle and Hyperliquid would gain a structural advantage as institutional capital flows into regulated venues. If it stalls, the regulatory vacuum persists, and the market's optimism — Kalshi odds of passage jumped to 52% from 33% in one week — could unwind quickly. Bitcoin, which trades at $64,671 with a market value of $1.29 trillion, would lose a key catalyst that some analysts say could push it toward $200,000.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
[1] Circle and Hyperliquid identified as CLARITY Act infrastructure winners by Bob Diamond[2] Analysts See Bitcoin at $200,000 on CLARITY Act Passage, But 7 Roadblocks Remain[3] Circle secures New York trust charter as crypto regulatory push accelerates[4] BlackRock, Fidelity, other Wall Street giants back the Clarity Act
