Michael Saylor Says CLARITY Act Rejection Opens New Path for U.S. Crypto

Highlights:

• Michael Saylor says the CLARITY Act setback could open another path for U.S. crypto growth.
• He opposes parts of the latest compromise, including stablecoin reward limits and a restricted innovation sandbox.
• Saylor wants regulators to use existing powers while crypto companies focus on wider adoption and useful products.

Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor says the failure of the CLARITY Act to advance in the U.S. Senate could give the crypto industry another path forward. Instead of accepting restrictions in the latest version of the bill, he wants digital asset companies to push for supportive regulation, stronger competition and wider adoption.

Saylor shared his views in a September 20 post on X, linking to an article he published the day before titled “Digital Assets After CLARITY: The Best Protection Is Adoption”. He said U.S. regulators already have enough authority to support crypto growth without waiting for another major bill.

My thoughts on why the rejection of CLARITY marks a positive inflection point for Digital Assets, and why supportive rules and free markets should now accelerate innovation and growth. https://t.co/qmahxXuG6L

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) September 19, 2026

His comments came after the Senate failed to move forward with H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, on September 15. The procedural vote ended 49-50, leaving the bill short of the support needed to advance.

Michael Saylor Pushes Back Against CLARITY Act Restrictions

Saylor focused heavily on restrictions included in the September CLARITY compromise. One concern involved stablecoin rewards. The proposal would have limited covered providers from paying customers simply for holding payment stablecoins, while still allowing certain activity-based rewards.

He argued that protecting the financial system should not stop new financial products from competing with traditional services. “Legal certainty matters. So does the freedom to compete,” he said. Saylor also criticized limits in the bill’s innovation sandbox.

Under the proposal, companies joining the sandbox could have no more than 25 employees. Each commission would also be allowed to approve only 20 projects a year. Saylor argued that limits like these could hold back new ideas before they have a real chance to grow. Instead, he called for clear rules, fair competition, more customer choice and strong action against fraud.

SEC and CFTC Still Have Room to Act

Saylor pointed to recent regulatory moves as evidence that U.S. crypto policy can continue even without CLARITY. On September 17, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced temporary and conditional relief for certain tokenized U.S. stocks. The exemption allows qualifying Tokenized Securities Venues to support onchain trading while the SEC works on a longer-term regulatory framework. Anti-fraud protections and other securities rules remain in place.

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig has also said the agency could use its existing authority if CLARITY remains stalled. He directed staff to explore rules for leveraged or margined crypto trading and ways for onchain finance developers to operate legally in the United States.

LATEST: 🇺🇸 CFTC Chair Michael Selig says the CFTC will help deliver a "future-proof crypto asset regulatory market structure" through its existing authorities after the CLARITY Act stalled in the Senate. pic.twitter.com/o3Q52tEMd3

— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) September 16, 2026

Saylor Wants Crypto Adoption to Reach Millions

For Saylor, regulation is only part of the issue. He believes wider adoption could give digital assets stronger long-term support. He suggested building useful financial products for as many as 50 million Americans, including easier Bitcoin access, cheaper payments and digital securities. Saylor further suggests that 2027 and 2028 could be used by the industry to build on the development of regulatory-compliant cryptocurrency products.

Saylor’s company also remains heavily invested in Bitcoin. As of its latest disclosure, Strategy held 845,050 BTC, acquired for about $63.73 billion at an average price of $75,412 per Bitcoin. Strategy’s most recent Bitcoin purchase came in late August, when it added 4,603 BTC for about $369.7 million.