Robin Cook 🛡️

We’re on the Hill every day this week pushing for Clarity. Today, @SummerMersinger and @LindsayFraser0 joined @Multicoin’s @xethalis and @Coinbase’s @RobinRCook in the Senate to brief staff on the Clarity Act as we approach a floor vote. It’s time for Clarity. 🇺🇸

Crypto policy didn't become bipartisan overnight. For the first time, the U.S. is on the cusp of establishing a comprehensive federal framework for digital asset markets—a moment years in the making. I joined the Blockchain Bulletin podcast to discuss the GENIUS Act, the CLARITY Act, and what comes next for U.S. crypto policy. paymentexpert.com/2026/06/30/coi…

New federal rules are not a loophole. New AML obligations are not deregulation. New law enforcement tools are not “window dressing.” The criticism misses what's actually in the bill: stronger AML requirements, clearer compliance obligations, and additional authorities for law enforcement to pursue illicit finance.

Like many in this industry, I was drawn to crypto because I believe this technology can meaningfully benefit people when it is allowed to develop responsibly: by expanding access to financial services, giving individuals greater control over their assets, supporting open-source innovation that makes financial infrastructure more transparent and secure, and keeping the next generation of finance and the internet in the United States. Reading this letter, there is a fundamental misunderstanding about what the Clarity Act does. As a reminder, the Clarity Act: - applies BSA and sanctions obligations – including SARs reporting – to all digital commodity brokers, dealers, and exchanges (sec. 201) - creates a new special-measure authority for digital asset-related illicit finance – which gives Treasury significantly stronger tools to combat illicit activity in the digital asset ecosystem (sec. 303) - brings controlled, ‘DeFi in name only’ protocols into the regulatory perimeter (sec. 301) - creates a safe harbor for temporary holds on suspicious transactions, allowing stablecoin issuers and digital asset service providers to place short, good-faith holds based on suspected unlawful activity or a written law enforcement request (sec. 305) - strengthens seizure and forfeiture tools by adding digital assets to the definition of “monetary instruments” in the Bank Secrecy Act (sec. 307) - requires intermediaries connecting customers to DeFi to maintain risk-management programs addressing money laundering, sanctions evasion, fraud, and market manipulation (sec. 308) - establishes an information sharing program between private sector entities and federal law enforcement to share information about illicit finance risks and threats (sec. 203) - creates a federal working group on illicit finance with the mandate to develop proposals to improve anti-money laundering efforts related to digital assets (sec. 204) And Section 604 does one narrow thing: It prevents non-custodial software developers from being misclassified as money transmitters when they do not custody assets or control transactions. It does not immunize criminals. It does not limit sanctions enforcement. It does not stop prosecutions for money laundering, fraud, or terrorist financing. I agree with the signatories of the letter: Regulatory certainty should never come at the expense of accountability, transparency, victim protection, or public safety. Fortunately, the Clarity Act does not force a choice between innovation and public safety. Without Clarity, we are left with the status quo: gaps in oversight, no expanded BSA/AML obligations for key digital asset intermediaries, limited tools for federal agencies, and more activity pushed offshore and outside the U.S. regulatory perimeter. That outcome serves no one. Not consumers, not law enforcement, not responsible innovators, and not the United States. To the signatories of this letter: We share the same goal. We must hold bad actors accountable. We must protect consumers. We must ensure this technology develops under American rules. The answer is to pass a framework that brings digital asset activity into the regulatory perimeter, gives law enforcement strong, effective tools, and makes clear that innovation and accountability are not competing values.

Hey @BrendanPedersen, there are a number of @coinbase people on the list because we hire lots of experienced national security veterans to keep our platform safe and to partner with law enforcement when they need our help. We've even won awards and commendations for the help we provide in going after illicit activity. This is a good thing.

@EleanorTerrett @SenLummis Tell me you haven't read the bill without telling me, JD. x.com/amandatums/sta…

This is an odd clip. I find it hard to believe that the CEO of a major BBB could be this uninformed about a major piece of financial legislation. The Clarity Act “doesn’t do anything for AML/BSA.” Really? Have you read Titles II or III? “It allows them to effectively pay interest on deposits.” False. Section 404 explicitly prohibits digital asset companies from paying any form of interest or yield on a stablecoin balance in a manner that is “economically or functionally equivalent to the payment of interest or yield on an interest-bearing bank deposit.” It is becoming increasingly clear that bank opposition to the Clarity Act is more about personality than policy.

Thanks for having me @BrodyMullinsDC - today was a historic day for the Banking Committee to advance CLARITY on a bipartisan basis. On to the Senate Floor!

This is a very bad view of the back of my head.

@DavidDuong @CoinbaseInsto Thank you @DavidDuong - really enjoyed working with you!

After nearly five years, my time with @CoinbaseInsto as Global Head of Research has finally come to a close. While it's a bittersweet end to this chapter of my life, I'm genuinely grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside such talented colleagues and wonderful friends (sincerely some of the smartest yet down-to-earth people I've ever come across), and I'm proud of all that we've accomplished together. To my team, thank you for all of your support, collaboration, and trust. For now, I'm planning to unplug from markets for a while and think about what I want to do next. Feel free to DM me if you want to chat.

.@Sen_Alsobrooks and I have worked on a bipartisan basis with all stakeholders to address the banking industry’s concerns about deposit flight. They have had a seat at the table and have been directly sharing their feedback and ideas for months to inform the final product. We have worked in good faith with all sides throughout this process to encourage compromise and to avoid letting the perfect become the enemy of the good.   The result is a substantially improved, consensus-based product. Our compromise prohibits stablecoin rewards from resembling interest on bank deposits, our core concern over deposit flight.   Our compromise also allows crypto companies to offer other forms of customer rewards. Most importantly, it helps put us on a bipartisan path to pass the CLARITY Act, providing the regulatory certainty needed to foster innovation. Some in the banking industry may not want either of these things to happen, and we respectfully agree to disagree.

Judging by my feed, the rewards language released last night was either a complete giveaway to @coinbase, a complete capitulation by @coinbase to the banks, or had nothing whatsoever to do with @coinbase. I’d say that means it’s the right language. Onward.

Today, we hand-delivered a message to Washington. Over 28,000 Americans signed our petition this week, asking the Senate one thing: mark up the CLARITY Act. We're watching. We're organized. And we're voting. 🇺🇸

ICBA is doing its members a huge disservice over this issue. As communicated to their leadership ad nauseam, an outright prohibition on stablecoins rewards is dead on arrival. Were ICBA to succeed in defeating CLARITY over this issue (doubtful), their “reward” would be that GENIUS controls. Which, if ICBA’s argument is to be believed, would be catastrophic to their members. As they say: play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Instead of committing continued lobbying malpractice, ICBA should be enthusiastically supporting the compromise that Senators Tillis and Alsobrooks have reached, which addresses the issue of idle yield head-on in a way that can actually become law.

North Carolina SWC advocates have consistently made their voices heard in support of stablecoin rewards, calling 1500+ times and sending 12k+ emails. There are 70k SWC advocates in NC who are counting on lawmakers to protect their financial future. Don't let them down.

The compromise reached by Senators Tillis and Alsobrooks addresses concerns about deposit flight head on. It’s hard to explain any further lobbying by banks on this issue as motivated by anything other than greed or ignorance. Move on.

Yesterday there were some threads on how long Market Structure has been worked on. If you’re in industry or at a law firm working on behalf of clients, it’s your dedicated work. But there are cohorts of staffers (mostly still on the Hill) who have been working on this stuff for the better part of a decade because they have a passion for it and care. HFSC/Banking and Ag (across different gavel control), and individual offices (both sides of the aisle). This has been a labor of love for them and they have spent enormous time trying to understand these markets and craft reasonable laws to allow for rational regulation. It is time to pass CLARITY. This is their hard work, their legacy. Get it done.

We agree. Thank you @SecScottBessent for saying it. It's time to pass the Clarity Act. Grateful for all the bipartisan work among Senators and staff over the past several months to make this a strong bill.

@BankersPrez @WSJ @nytimes @AmerBanker Beautiful tribute - thank you for posting. I loved the chance to get to work with her.

Another well deserved tribute for Karen Petrou I cherished every opportunity to learn from her Kudos to the @WSJ for this article and also to the @nytimes and @AmerBanker for their coverage of her inspiring career too Karen Petrou, a banking analyst who died at the age of 72, often said that the stereotypes thrust on blind people were worse than actually being blind wsj.com/business/karen… via @WSJ

Arguably my favorite part of this rewards/yield debate has been when bankers say “if we allow this, then we’ll see massive deposit flight.” Crypto has already been offering rewards/yield on stablecoins FOR YEARS. Where is the deposit flight? Is it in the room with us right now?