Michael Saylor Says Crypto Should Move Beyond CLARITY: Here’s His Alternative

The co-founder and former CEO of the world’s largest corporate holder of bitcoin is the latest to weigh in on the failed advancement vote of the CLARITY Act in the US Senate on September 15.

He outlined an alternative path for the US crypto industry, arguing that widespread adoption could ultimately provide stronger protection for digital assets than a compromised piece of legislation.

Don’t Wait for Congress

The Strategy executive chairman said the industry should use the next couple of years to deploy compliant products with support from existing regulators, rather than just accept restrictions attached to the latest version of the bill just so that it can pass.

His proposals include building products that lower costs, expand access, and give customers greater control over their money. The most ambitious part of the proposal is to attract 50 million satisfied US users benefiting from various crypto financial products.

Such a user base would make future policy reversals considerably more difficult because millions of Americans would have a direct interest in preserving those services.

“Adoption raises the political cost of reversal,” he added.

With 2026 nearing Q4, he wants the industry to refocus particularly on 2027 and 2028, using existing regulatory openings to scale products before pursuing narrower legislation where additional congressional authority is actually required. His views are quite contrasting to the broader industry response to CLARITY’s major setback, as the bill was widely viewed as a way to provide lasting certainty over how crypto assets are classified and which agencies oversee them.

Saylor has repeatedly argued that progress does not necessarily have to wait for Congress, especially when it comes to Bitcoin.

No Compromise

As with every bill negotiation in the US, Republicans and Democrats couldn’t agree on all points, and the former had to give in on several major requirements. Yet, that was still not enough, and the vote on September 15 failed.

Saylor believes the latest CLARITY compromises contained restrictions covering areas such as stablecoin rewards and innovation programs. Among those, it would have limited certain rewards paid simply for holding payment stablecoins and placed restrictions on participation in its proposed regulatory sandbox.

Instead, Saylor prefers to allow the SEC, CFTC, Treasury, and banking regulators to use their existing powers to establish workable rules while allowing companies to compete.

Previously, Strategy’s former CEO argued that regulators could continue advancing crypto policy even with CLARITY stalled, pointing specifically to bank Bitcoin custody, BTC-backed lending, stablecoin adoption, and digital credit.

On the plus side, both the SEC and the CFTC already pushed for new regulations in the first few days after the key bill’s setback.