Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, said the crypto industry will keep moving forward even if the CLARITY Act risks failing this week and becoming a zombie bill. He believes crypto has advanced too far to be put back in the bottle, and Washington is always late to major technological shifts. The Senate faces an August 5 deadline to push through this key crypto market structure bill before the summer recess. If it fails, it could be delayed until next year as members focus on the November midterm elections. Galaxy Research has lowered the probability of the bill passing in 2026 to 30 percent, while Polymarket gives only a 23 percent chance of it being signed into law this year, down from 82 percent in February. Greg Cipolaro, Global Head of Research at NYDIG, said the bill still lacks sufficient bipartisan support, and without signs of progress from the White House, Senate Democrats will block a cloture vote. Hougan remains hopeful the bill could pass in September or December during a lame duck session, possibly included in an omnibus package. But if it fails, the industry will revert to the joint SEC-CFTC interpretive policy issued in March, which classifies Bitcoin and other assets as digital commodities, replacing the 2019 SEC staff guidance. SEC Chair Paul Atkins confirmed the agency is ready to issue rules addressing the same issues as CLARITY, but agency rules are not as durable as legislation and could be challenged in court or reversed by a new administration. Ryan Louvar, Chief Legal Officer at WisdomTree, argued that the absence of a law will hinder the market because participants cannot predict which agency's rules will apply. Hougan concluded that crypto will be fine because there are still two and a half years to accelerate before a new administration might appoint a new SEC, and he stressed that crypto has enough momentum to overhaul finance for decades to come no matter what happens.
NYDIG's head says bill lacks bipartisan support, indicating regulatory headwinds for crypto.
Bitwise Asset ManagementPrivate± Mixed
Regulationrelevance
Bitwise CIO remains hopeful but acknowledges bill may stall; impact on company unclear.
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Galaxy Digital survey finds crypto VC investment up 31% quarter-on-quarter to about $5.683 billion
Galaxy Digital, a crypto financial services firm, published survey findings on September 16 covering investment trends in the crypto and blockchain sectors. In the April-to-June 2026 quarter, venture capital firms invested about $5.683 billion in private crypto and blockchain-related companies, up 31% from the previous quarter, while the number of deals rose 10% quarter-on-quarter to 384. The biggest driver of the increase was the concentration of investment capital in later-stage companies, which accounted for about 78% of total investment, and the median funding per deal also reached a record high of about $4.9 million. By sector, companies engaged in exchanges, investment and lending raised about $3.523 billion, equivalent to roughly 60% of total investment, and more than 90% of the money put into this sector went to later-stage companies. Meanwhile, investment in the decentralized finance sector came to about $478 million. By region, companies headquartered in the United States accounted for 73.5% of investment value, but US companies made up only 39.1% of deal count. About $3.9 billion was allocated to new crypto-focused funds in the April-to-June quarter, but the number of funds came to just five, the lowest level since 2019. VC investment in the first half of 2026 reached about $10.018 billion, and if that pace continues, full-year investment would come to about $20.037 billion, approaching the roughly $20.3 billion seen in 2025 while exceeding the levels of the downturn in 2023 and 2024, according to the projections.
Bitcoin Breaks Above $80,000, Aided by Falling Oil, Short Squeeze, and Resumption of ETF Inflows
Bitcoin rebounded 8% from a seven-day low of about $75,500 to reach $81,800. Falling crude oil prices eased inflation concerns and helped fuel a short squeeze above $80,000. U.S. Central Command commander Brad Cooper indicated an increase in crude oil, cargo, and liquefied natural gas shipments, and Brent crude fell from around $111 on September 11 to about $104, while WTI crude also dropped from $106 to below $100. The Fed raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.75-4.00%, but the crypto market saw $201 million in forced liquidations over 24 hours, with shorts accounting for $112.9 million. A motion to begin deliberation on the CLARITY Act failed by a vote of 49 to 50, and its probability of passage fell from 31% to 7%, while the SEC introduced a five-year conditional exemption for TSV to handle tokenized NMS equities, and the CFTC also sent crypto trading and market regulation proposals to the White House. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw inflows of about $159 million on Thursday and $433 million on September 18, marking the first back-to-back net inflows since September 3.
Visa Moves to Close the Points 'Loophole' on Meme Coin Purchases
Visa, the major international payments network, is moving to correct a practice that treats credit card purchases of meme coins as 'digital content,' the same as e-books and music, Crypto In America reported on September 19. According to the report, Visa has told payment processors that it will not allow the use of 'MCC 5815' for meme coin purchases. MCC is a four-digit classification code indicating what type of business a card payment is made to, and Visa's official manual stipulates that cryptocurrency purchases should in principle use MCC 6012 or 6051, along with information indicating a cryptocurrency transaction. MCC 5815, meanwhile, is the category for e-books, movies, music, and digital art. The specific end date has not been made clear, but the grace period is expected to end in the week from September 21 to 27. Behind this is the problem that when some apps purchased meme coins, the transactions were processed not as cryptocurrency but as 'digital media,' granting users the same points and cashback as ordinary purchases. Crossmint, which was processing the payments, is said to have based its position on the view of SEC Division of Corporation Finance staff that some meme coins are closer to collectibles than securities, but Visa judged that card payments must be treated as cryptocurrency and that the use of MCC 5815 is inappropriate. This move does not itself ban card purchases of meme coins, but because they will now be processed as cryptocurrency transactions, it may become harder to earn the same points and cashback as ordinary purchases.
Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd
WisdomTree Inc.