Summary
- Kevin OLeary expects lawmakers to revisit the Clarity Act after the midterm elections.
- He pointed to the House Ways and Means Committees crypto tax bill as a key reason he believes market-structure legislation will return.
- “Once you tax, you‘ve got to have policy,” O’Leary said, arguing that rules for taxing activities such as staking will increase pressure for regulatory clarity.
Shark Tank host and veteran investor Kevin O‘Leary said he’s convinced the Clarity Act will eventually advance in the Senate and could return as soon as the first quarter of next year.
Speaking at the Avalanche Summit in New York on Thursday, O‘Leary said he didn’t expect the bill to advance on Tuesday, when it received 49 of the 60 Senate votes needed to proceed.
“The chances of Clarity passing, in my view, were zero, and that‘s what happened,” O’Leary said.
The legislation sought to establish a broader federal framework for crypto markets, including the roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
But OLeary sees the failed vote as a delay rather than the end of the bill. He pointed to a separate crypto tax bill that advanced in the House this week as one reason he believes lawmakers will ultimately have to return to the issue of market structure.
The House Ways and Means Committee advanced the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act, which seeks to establish tax rules for areas including staking, mining, small crypto transactions and broker requirements.