If the United States formally introduces the "Clarity of Crypto Market Structure Act," what kind of regulatory certainty will it bring to the crypto industry? How will it accelerate the integration of traditional finance and crypto finance, attract a large influx of institutional funds, and ultimately achieve the mainstreaming of crypto assets and a new round of market boom?
Article author and source: KeyDanGe
I. January 2026 Senate vote: Why is it a watershed moment for the development of the crypto market?
Why is this vote by the U.S. Senate Banking Committee considered a watershed moment in the development of the crypto market?
The core reason is that if the "Clarity of Crypto Market Structure Act" passes with 60 or more votes, it will become the most powerful institutional bullish catalyst since the birth of cryptocurrencies, and the market will likely experience an unprecedented explosive growth.
Beyond its direct impact on market trends, this vote carries a deeper significance: it is a historic response to the “wild growth” of the crypto market in the regulatory gray area over the past 15 years, a deep dialogue between the two concepts of traditional finance and decentralized finance, and, more importantly, a formal statement by the United States as a superpower on the future development direction of digital assets.
II. Core Issues of the Bill: The "Four Keys" Determining the Direction of the Crypto Economy
Since we're discussing legislation, what are its core issues? Why are these issues considered crucial to the crypto economy?
Specifically, the bill focuses on four core issues, each of which acts as a "key" that could either unlock the door to industry development or trap innovation in uncertainty:
- The legal status of decentralized finance (DeFi) under anti-money laundering rules;
- The distribution mechanism of stablecoin reserve returns;
- Scope of liability exemption for developers in non-managed models;
- Clarify the regulatory division of labor between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The key point about these issues is that they directly determine whether trillions of dollars of institutional capital can "safely enter" the market—a crucial hurdle for the crypto industry to become mainstream.
III. Regulatory Certainty: Ending a Decade of Ambiguity and Resolving the "Innovation Paradox"
The most direct impact of the bill's passage was ending a decade of regulatory uncertainty in the crypto market. But why did this initial "ambiguity in legal status," which was once a factor attracting innovation to the crypto market, later become a stumbling block to mainstream adoption?
Early Stages: Ambiguity Fosters Innovation In the early stages of the crypto market, the lack of clear regulations provided a "trial and error space" for tech geniuses and entrepreneurs, allowing them to freely experiment with new ideas. At this time, ambiguity became a breeding ground for innovation.
Later Stages: Uncertainty Hinders Mainstream Adoption. As the market develops, the lack of clarity regarding legal status has gradually become the biggest obstacle. Institutional investors are not afraid of market volatility, but they are extremely wary of policy risks—without a clear and stable regulatory framework, they will never invest large amounts of capital in the market.
IV. Regulatory Environment Changes: How Can Unified Standards Reshape the Industry?
If the "Clarity of Crypto Market Structure Act" is passed, how will it specifically change the regulatory environment of the digital asset industry?
The most direct change after the bill is passed is that the classification, trading, custody, and issuance of digital assets will have unified national standards, eliminating the overlap or conflict of jurisdiction between the federal and state governments and different regulatory agencies—a major benefit for the entire industry.
This also means that traditional financial institutions can finally "enter the market with peace of mind": previously, Wall Street banks, securities firms, and asset management companies were unable to participate in the crypto market on a large scale due to compliance risks; now that the rules are clear, they will quickly launch crypto custody, trading, asset management and other services, promoting a more complete and professional crypto market ecosystem.
V. Institutional Capital Trends: New Actions by Listed Companies and Long-Term Capital
After the bill is passed, what new actions will US listed companies and long-term capital such as pension funds and sovereign wealth funds take?
(i) Listed Companies: The Inclusion of Crypto Assets in Balance Sheets is Becoming a Trend
The bill will alleviate listed companies' concerns about accounting standards, taxation, and regulatory risks, encouraging more companies to include cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets.
Companies like MicroStrategy have already taken the lead in deploying [this strategy].
Companies such as MicroStrategy had previously been among the first to allocate to Bitcoin;
In the future, more S&P 500 companies may convert some of their cash reserves into digital assets as a long-term strategy to combat inflation and currency devaluation.
(II) Long-term capital: Trillions of yuan are poised to be released.
Pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and other large-scale long-term capital globally are extremely risk-averse, and clear regulatory oversight will be a "key signal" for their entry into the market.
With global pension fund assets exceeding $50 trillion, allocating just 1% to crypto assets could generate $500 billion in new funds, completely altering the market's supply and demand dynamics.
Previously, US private sector pension funds ($20 trillion), public pension funds ($5 trillion), and insurance companies ($8 trillion) could only participate "limitedly" due to regulatory restrictions. Once they enter the market in compliance with regulations, their financial size will be extremely substantial.
VI. Compliance Cost Optimization: From "Multiple Responses" to "Unified Standards"
With clearer regulations, how will compliance costs change in the crypto industry?
Currently, crypto companies face the challenge of navigating federal regulations, the diverse requirements of the 50 states, and repeated communication and coordination with multiple regulatory agencies, resulting in extremely high compliance costs. However, once a unified national standard is implemented:
Compliance processes will be significantly simplified, allowing companies to invest more resources in technological innovation rather than being "struggling with legal matters."
VII. Stablecoins: A "Key Bridge" Connecting Traditional and Crypto Finance
Stablecoins are one of the core issues addressed in the bill. Why are they considered key to connecting traditional finance with the crypto world? What changes will the stablecoin sector undergo after the bill's passage?
(i) The “infrastructure attribute” of stablecoins has become prominent.
Even if the total market capitalization of the crypto market declines in 2025, the market capitalization of stablecoins will still grow by 48.9% to reach $311 billion – a figure that fully demonstrates the huge potential of stablecoins as a basic financial infrastructure, especially stablecoins pegged to the US dollar, which have become the core link between the two financial systems.
(II) Three revolutionary changes after the bill was implemented
With a clear legal status and regulatory framework, stablecoins will gain formal legal status and a clear regulatory framework. Traditional institutions such as banks and payment giants will enter the field on an "unprecedented scale" and issue compliant stablecoins (for example, in 2025, PayPal's PY USD market value increased by 48.4% to $3.6 billion, becoming the fifth largest stablecoin; in the future, companies with billions of users such as JPMorgan Chase, Apple, and Amazon may launch their own stablecoins).
The bill, which aims to reshape the flow of funds through a yield mechanism, may clarify the rules for distributing returns on stablecoin reserves (such as short-term U.S. Treasury bonds and cash). If issuers are allowed to share a portion of their returns with holders, the "digital dollar" will become an "interest-bearing asset." In the current high-interest-rate environment, even an annualized return of only 3%-4% would be enough to attract a large amount of funds seeking safe returns, flowing from money market funds and bank savings accounts into the stablecoin market (based on a stablecoin market size of over $300 billion, this would generate tens of billions of dollars in new funding demand annually).
The current cross-border payment industry is characterized by high costs and slow processing times, particularly for small remittances in developing countries. Compliant USD stablecoins offer "real-time arrival, extremely low fees, and global coverage (accessible via internet)," disrupting the traditional remittance industry and forcing traditional companies like Western Union and MoneyGram to transform their operations. According to World Bank data, global remittances are projected to exceed $800 billion by 2025; if stablecoins capture just 10% of the market share, this could generate $80 billion in new demand.
(III) Coexistence of Stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)
The bill may clarify the rules governing the interaction between private stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)—essentially establishing a legal framework for their coexistence during the Federal Reserve's cautious exploration of CBDCs. Ultimately, stablecoins will become a "digital extension" of the dollar, helping to solidify its global dominance in the digital age.
VIII. The Institutional Capital "Tsunami": From the "Prelude" to "Full Entry"
Why is it said that the passage of the bill will lead to a large influx of institutional funds? What are the current signs of institutional participation?
(I) Current Situation: The Overture Has Begun
By 2025, digital asset treasury companies had invested at least $49.7 billion in cryptocurrencies, holding over 1 million Bitcoins and 6 million Ethereums—a sum exceeding 5% of the total supply of Bitcoin and Ethereum, but this is still just the beginning.
(II) Future: A variety of institutions will enter the market in batches.
In addition to the pension funds and insurance companies mentioned earlier, university endowments, sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds, private equity firms, and even corporate treasury departments will all join the crypto market, driving a complete transformation of its structure. Even if these institutions allocate only 0.5%-1% of their assets to crypto assets, it will still bring in $165 billion to $330 billion, strongly boosting the market.
(III) Three major impacts of institutional entry on the market
Improved liquidity and reduced slippage: Market depth has increased significantly, making buying and selling operations smoother and reducing the frequency of "significant slippage".
Reduced volatility: Institutional capital tends to hold for the long term, and speculative volatility will be significantly reduced;
Price discovery mechanism optimization: Asset prices are closer to their true value, and cryptocurrencies will gradually become "mainstream investment products" alongside stocks and bonds, and be included in institutional asset allocation standards.
IX. Decentralized Finance (DeFi): Compliance Unleashes Innovation Potential
What new changes will DeFi see after the bill's passage? How will compliance unleash its innovative potential?
(i) Clear legal status opens up room for growth
The bill's new definition of the legal status of DeFi protects innovation while clarifying compliance standards—which will open up space for DeFi to grow from the current $100 billion in locked value to dozens of times in the future.
(ii) A large number of institutional-grade DeFi products will emerge.
In the future, there will be DeFi protocols designed specifically for pension funds, insurance companies, and hedge funds: these protocols will embed KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) processes to meet the audit and reporting requirements of institutions, while retaining the transparency, composability, and permissionless innovation advantages of DeFi.
(III) Tokenization of Real-World Assets (RWA): Injecting a "High-Quality Asset Source" into DeFi
Once the bill is enacted, traditional assets such as US Treasury bonds, corporate bonds, mortgage-backed securities, and private equity will enter the blockchain through compliant tokenization platforms, becoming collateral for DeFi protocols and generating stable returns. According to the Boston Consulting Group, by 2030, $16 trillion in illiquid assets will be tokenized—even if only one-tenth enters DeFi, it will create a new asset base of $1.6 trillion, fundamentally changing the DeFi ecosystem.
(iv) Technological Breakthroughs: Upgrades in Cross-Chain, Interoperability, and Scalability
Currently, DeFi suffers from a "blockchain fragmentation" problem, with different chains struggling to communicate directly. The regulatory certainty brought by the legislation will drive more resources into the development of cross-chain bridges, Layer 2 scaling solutions, and interoperability protocols.
Ethereum Layer 2 technologies (such as Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base), the Cosmos cross-chain ecosystem, and Polkadot parachains will play a core role.
Ultimately, this will achieve "low fees and high transaction speeds," supporting more complex financial products and larger-scale capital flows.
(V) Balancing Privacy and Compliance: Safeguarding Privacy through Technological Innovation
To balance regulatory requirements and user privacy, technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs, homomorphic encryption, and decentralized identity protocols will become the underlying infrastructure of DeFi—users can "selectively disclose compliance information" (such as proving that they are not on the sanctions list or have passed KYC, without exposing more personal information).
(vi) Decentralized Insurance: A “New Tool” for Hedging Risk
Decentralized insurance protocols based on blockchain will become widespread, allowing institutional investors to hedge against smart contract risks, oracle risks, and liquidity risks. Insurance coverage is provided by on-chain capital pools, and claims are automatically processed through decentralized arbitration or oracles, making the process more transparent and efficient than traditional insurance.
10. Mainstream Crypto Assets: The Reshaping of Bitcoin and Ethereum's Status
What specific changes will occur in the positioning of Bitcoin and Ethereum after the bill is passed?
(I) Bitcoin: From "Controversial Asset" to "Digital Gold"
Clear Positioning: Recognition of Commodity Attributes If the bill clearly defines Bitcoin as a "commodity" rather than a "securities," it will dispel the doubts of traditional investors and make it an "institutionally recognized digital reserve asset." Bitcoin's fixed total supply, decentralization, and censorship resistance give it a store of value function similar to gold, and it is easier to divide, transfer, and verify.
Bitcoin's market capitalization growth potential is enormous. Its poor performance in 2025 (a 6.4% decline for the year) was primarily due to market ambiguity regarding its positioning (its trajectory was similar to the US dollar and oil, but diverged from gold's 62.6% increase). If its positioning is clearly defined as "digital gold," its current market capitalization of around $1 trillion still represents significant room for growth compared to the market capitalization of gold.
If 10% of the market value of gold were captured, the price would reach $1.3 million per coin (a 13-fold increase from the current price).
Even if you only capture 5%, you can still achieve a growth rate of more than 6 times.
3. Institutional allocation becomes "routine operation": In the future, institutional allocation of Bitcoin will shift from "fringe experimentation" to "routine choice," further consolidating its status as "digital gold."
(II) Ethereum: From "Platform Coin" to "Digital Oil"
Core Positioning: Ethereum is the core underlying infrastructure for smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps). Every transaction, contract execution, and token transfer consumes ETH as a gas fee—its value is deeply tied to the activity of the blockchain economy, making it a veritable "digital oil."
Demand Explosion: DeFi Compliance Drives Growth. With the legislation clarifying DeFi regulation, Ethereum's demand will increase significantly: Currently, its market capitalization is about $300 billion. If it can capture 1% of the global financial services market, its market capitalization could rise to $1 trillion (a 3-fold increase from its current level).
With the staking economy and ETF ecosystem maturing, Ethereum has transitioned to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism, offering 3%-5% annualized returns for staking ETH. Following the passage of the bill, as Ethereum network activity increases, staking yields are expected to rise further. Simultaneously, staking ETH may be developed into compliant financial products (such as staking ETFs and structured products), attracting more institutional and individual investors.
With the ETF ecosystem maturing, Bitcoin spot ETFs have already attracted hundreds of billions of dollars in funds by 2025; in the future, innovative products such as Ethereum-related ETFs (such as spot ETFs and collateralized yield ETFs), leveraged inverse futures, and options will be launched one after another to meet the needs of investors with different risk appetites.
XI. Emerging Crypto Tokens: From "Hot Talk" to "Value-Driven"
What changes will emerge in emerging cryptocurrencies and tokens after the bill is passed?
(I) The value discovery mechanism returns to rationality
Previously, due to regulatory uncertainty, the valuations of many projects were severely decoupled from their actual value, and speculation was widespread. After the bill was implemented, regulatory transparency improved and institutional research deepened, allowing projects with "innovation and practical application scenarios" to stand out and differentiate themselves from purely speculative tokens.
(ii) The tokens are clearly classified and the valuation logic is clear.
The bill may provide clear legal definitions and regulatory rules for utility tokens, security tokens, and payment tokens, promoting the establishment of reasonable valuation logic in the market.
Utility tokens: valued based on network usage;
Security tokens: valued based on cash flow and profitability;
Investors can make rational choices based on the true value of projects and avoid "homogeneous speculation".
(III) Governance Tokens: Digital Equity Attributes Gain Recognition
Governance tokens issued by DeFi protocols (holders can vote to determine protocol parameters) have often been underestimated due to regulatory ambiguity. With the legislation clarifying their legal status, their "digital equity" attributes will be recognized by the market—especially protocol governance tokens with stable cash flow, clear governance structures, and wide applications, which may be repriced like tech stocks.
(iv) Privacy coins: "Limited development" under the compliance framework
Privacy is the core value of encryption technology, but it conflicts with compliance requirements—the bill may not ban privacy technologies outright, but rather set specific usage rules and compliance thresholds:
Privacy coins such as Monero and Zcash, as well as privacy tools such as Tornado Cash, may continue to develop under the premise of "selectively increasing transparency";
If a balance between compliance and innovation can be found, privacy technologies can both protect individual freedom and prevent illegal activities, and related tokens will find a clear market position.
(V) Token Issuance and Financing: Balancing Regulation and Security
Future token issuance will be more standardized: clear registration and information disclosure requirements will be enforced, and investor protection will be strengthened. Although compliance costs for project teams will increase, the overall quality of the market will improve, making it easier to win the trust of professional investors. At the same time, decentralized launch platforms may achieve efficient and secure token financing through "automatic execution of smart contracts + automatic compliance checks," reducing chaos and fraud.
XII. Global Impact: Capital Flows and Reshaping of the Regulatory Landscape
How will the passage of the U.S. Crypto Markets Clarity Act affect global capital flows and the regulatory landscape?
(i) Global capital is accelerating its flow into the US crypto market
As a global financial center, the United States' regulatory policies have strong spillover effects—the enactment of the bill is tantamount to labeling digital assets as "mainstream," and global funds will accelerate their flow into the US crypto market.
Previously, Dubai, Singapore, Switzerland, Hong Kong and other regions competed for crypto talent and capital, but the United States, with its deep-rooted capital market, sound financial infrastructure and clear regulations, may become the "preferred destination for global crypto capital".
US crypto companies (such as Coinbase) will expand their global market share, further strengthening the dominance of US dollar stablecoins (potentially accounting for more than 90% of global stablecoin transactions).
The United States will gain more influence in setting global encryption regulatory standards, and other countries may adjust their own policies in accordance with US rules.
(II) Emerging Markets: Compliance Channels Open Up Demand
Emerging markets such as Nigeria, Turkey, Argentina, and Vietnam have seen a large number of users adopting cryptocurrencies due to unstable local currencies, strict capital controls, and underdeveloped traditional financial services. With clearer US regulations, investors in these markets will have more confidence to invest in Bitcoin and USD stablecoins through compliant channels, creating sustained demand for the crypto industry.
(III) Global Central Banks and Sovereign Wealth Funds: Adjustments to Reserve Strategies
Some countries (such as El Salvador) have already included Bitcoin in their foreign exchange reserves; following the passage of the US bill, more countries (especially those facing dollar sanctions and seeking to diversify reserve risks) may follow suit and allocate cryptocurrency reserves.
• With global foreign exchange reserves reaching $12 trillion, if 1%-2% were to flow into cryptocurrencies, it could generate $120 billion to $240 billion in new demand.
(iv) Global Wealth Management Industry: Encryption Services Become a Standard Feature
Previously, private banks such as UBS, Credit Suisse, and HSBC offered limited crypto services; after the bill's enactment, they will quickly launch comprehensive crypto wealth management solutions, making it easier for high-net-worth individuals worldwide to incorporate cryptocurrencies into their investment portfolios.
According to data from Qiager Consulting, high-net-worth individuals with over $1 million in investable assets worldwide control approximately $80 trillion in wealth. If just 1% of that is allocated to cryptocurrencies, it could bring in $800 billion in capital inflows, completely changing the landscape of crypto assets.
Thirteen, Traditional Financial Innovation: A "New Ecosystem" Integrating Encryption Technology
After the bill is passed, what new initiatives will traditional financial institutions take in product innovation?
(a) Banks: Popularization of Crypto-secured Loans
Banks may launch "crypto asset-backed loans"—users can pledge Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies to banks to obtain dollar loans without having to sell the crypto assets, thus avoiding capital gains tax. This product will attract investors who are "bullish on cryptocurrencies in the long term but need liquidity."
(II) Insurance Companies: Dedicated Encryption Insurance Products Launched
Insurance companies will launch exclusive insurance products for crypto assets, covering risks such as lost private keys, hacker attacks, and smart contract vulnerabilities, addressing the "security concerns" of institutional and individual investors.
(III) Securities firms: Diversified supply of encrypted products
Brokerages will offer margin trading, options, and structured products for crypto assets to meet the needs of investors with different risk appetites and enrich the product portfolio of the crypto market.
(iv) New types of financial institutions: a "bridge" connecting tradition and encryption.
In the future, a number of "integrated financial institutions" will emerge: jointly founded by senior professionals in traditional finance and experts in crypto technology, these institutions will bridge the gap between fiat currency and cryptocurrency, providing comprehensive services such as cross-chain asset management, smart contract auditing, and compliance automation—becoming a key bridge for the safe entry of traditional investors and the compliant development of crypto projects.
XIV. Technological Breakthrough: The Wave of Upgrades to Encrypted Infrastructure
In which areas will the encryption technology infrastructure see breakthroughs after the bill is passed?
(I) Compliance Technology: The Explosion of AI and Automation Tools
As the crypto market expands and regulatory requirements become more detailed, the demand for compliant technologies will surge.
Blockchain analytics companies (such as Chainalysis and Elliptic) will expand their transaction monitoring and reporting services;
AI-driven transaction monitoring systems, automated tax reporting tools, and smart contract compliance inspection platforms will proliferate, helping companies efficiently cope with complex compliance requirements.
RegTech may become the fastest-growing sector in the crypto ecosystem.
(ii) Data and analytics services: becoming a "core infrastructure"
Encrypted data and analytics services will become a critical infrastructure for the industry, much like Bloomberg and Reuters in traditional finance.
On-chain data analysis, token economics research, protocol revenue tracking, and governance voting analysis will be more professional;
Companies like CoinGecko, CoinMetrics, and Nansen could evolve into the “Bloomberg Terminal of the crypto world,” providing institutional investors with comprehensive data and decision support.
(III) Scalability and Cross-Chain Technology: The Era of Multi-Chain Parallelism Has Arrived
Ethereum Layer 2 (Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Scroll, etc.) will be driven by institutional applications, increasing transaction processing capacity by hundreds to thousands of times;
Zero-knowledge proof technology will be more efficient, reducing transaction costs while ensuring security;
With the maturity of cross-chain interoperability protocols, the free flow of assets and data between different blockchains is realized, and the industry has entered a new stage of "multi-chain parallelism".
(iv) Decentralized storage and computing: getting rid of centralized dependence
Currently, most crypto projects rely on centralized cloud services such as Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure, which contradicts the decentralized concept. After the bill is passed, industry resources will increase, and decentralized storage protocols such as Filecoin and Arweave, as well as decentralized computing platforms such as Render Network, will become as "reliable, fast, and low-cost" as traditional cloud services—driving decentralized applications (DApps) to completely break free from their dependence on centralized infrastructure.
(V) Enhanced User Experience: Democratizing Crypto Asset Management
Account abstraction and smart contract wallets will become widespread, allowing users to manage crypto assets just like they would with traditional internet accounts:
It supports features such as restoring accounts through social relationships, signing multiple transactions at once, and having others pay gas fees on your behalf;
These optimizations will attract hundreds of millions, or even billions, of new users to smoothly enter the crypto world.
(vi) Oracle Networks: Connecting Traditional and Encrypted Data
In addition to providing reliable data, future oracle networks will also support complex computing services (such as identity verification results and credit scores), enabling seamless integration between DeFi and traditional financial data and becoming a "key bridge" connecting the two worlds.
(vii) Quantum security: Advance defense planning
Current encryption algorithms (such as elliptic curve cryptography) could be broken by quantum computers within 10-20 years; after the bill is passed, the industry will accelerate its investment in the research and deployment of quantum-resistant cryptography.
The new blockchain will directly adopt a quantum-safe encryption scheme;
Existing blockchains are upgraded through hard forks to proactively defend against quantum computing threats and ensure the long-term security of crypto assets.
XV. Social Cognitive Shift: Encryption Moving from the "Margins" to the "Mainstream"
What fundamental changes will occur in society's perception and cultural acceptance of cryptocurrencies after the bill is passed?
(I) Identity Transformation: From “Counterculture Movement” to “Mainstream Financial Supplement”
Early participants in cryptocurrencies were mostly tech geeks, libertarians, and anti-establishment figures who viewed them as "tools to challenge the traditional financial system." As traditional financial institutions and regulators get involved, cryptocurrencies will shed their "rebellious" image and become "supplementary or even indispensable" to the mainstream financial system.
(II) Community Attitude: Balancing Short-Term Controversy and Long-Term Benefits
Some early members of the crypto community may be disappointed by the "distortion of ideals," but in the long run, this shift will bring a broader user base and a more stable development environment to the crypto industry, which will benefit the entire ecosystem.
(III) Universal Education: Access to the Mainstream Education System
Currently, access to crypto knowledge relies on online courses, industry summits, and self-study. After the bill is passed, top universities' business schools, law schools, and computer science departments will offer specialized crypto finance courses and even degree programs. High schools may also incorporate blockchain and digital asset knowledge into economics or computer science courses. Systematic education will cultivate a large number of professionals and lay the foundation for continuous innovation in the industry.
(iv) Media Reports: From “Extremism” to “Objectivity”
Current media coverage of cryptocurrencies often goes to extremes (either praising them as a "revolutionary technology" or denouncing them as a "scam or environmental disaster"). With clearer regulations and deeper institutional involvement, the media will be more inclined to "balanced and objective reporting," viewing cryptocurrencies as "complex new things with both innovative potential and risks," helping the public to form a scientific and mature understanding.
(v) Cultural Infiltration: Integration of Art, Entertainment and Popular Culture
Similar to the NFT craze of 2021-2022 (though it later burst), with clearer legal status and market regulation, artists, musicians, filmmakers, and game developers will increasingly incorporate cryptographic elements into their works.
Create digital collectibles using NFTs;
Build a crypto-economic system within the Metaverse project;
Create artworks with an encrypted theme;
Ultimately, this will allow crypto culture to become an important part of popular culture.
(vi) Impact of values: promoting social transparency and individual sovereignty
The "transparency, verifiability, censorship resistance, and individual sovereignty" emphasized by blockchain will permeate society through the widespread use of cryptocurrencies:
More people will demand that governments, businesses, and organizations be as "open, transparent, and auditable" as blockchain technology.
The public will place greater emphasis on data control and ownership;
Cryptocurrencies, as a “living practice” of these ideas, will become an important force driving social progress (although this transformation is a long-term process).
XVI. Long-term impact and challenges: Opportunities and risks coexist
(I) Multi-level and long-term impact
In the short term: A massive influx of institutional funds has driven market prices up rapidly;
In the medium term: Traditional finance and crypto finance will deeply integrate, giving rise to new financial products, services and business models;
In the long term: Cryptocurrencies occupy an unshakeable position in the global financial system and may even change people's understanding of money and value.
(II) New Challenges Facing the Industry
Increased compliance costs and operational complexity: While a clear regulatory framework benefits the industry, it also increases compliance costs and operational complexity for companies.
Risk of weakening the decentralized spirit: The large-scale participation of institutions may weaken the original decentralized core of the crypto industry;
Accumulated systemic risks: Rapid market expansion may bring new systemic risks.
(III) The key balance: Coordination between innovation and regulation
While pursuing mainstream adoption, the industry needs to "stay true to its original mission," and regulatory agencies also need to reserve sufficient space for innovation while protecting investors and maintaining financial stability. Only in this way can encryption technology truly serve more people, manage larger-scale assets, and promote the development of the financial system in a more open, inclusive, and efficient direction.
In conclusion, the passage of the U.S. Crypto Markets Structure Clarity Act will bring about revolutionary changes to the crypto industry: from large-scale entry of institutional funds and deep integration of traditional and crypto finance to a comprehensive shift in social perception, a brand new financial era is dawning.
