Crypto Markets: Narrative Shifts & Institutional Inflection (2026-06-02)

Polymarket Faces Backlash Over MicroStrategy Bitcoin Sale Dispute

Polymarket faces mounting trader backlash over its proposed “No” resolution on a contested Bitcoin (BTC) market. Strategy Inc, formerly MicroStrategy, confirmed a 32 BTC sale during the window. The market now prices “No” at 99.8 cents. Polymarket ruled that public confirmation arrived outside the resolution timeframe.

Strategy disclosed in a June 1 Form 8-K filing that it sold 32 BTC. The sale ran from May 26 to May 31 for roughly $2.5 million. Proceeds will fund preferred stock distributions at $77,135 per coin. The amount equals about 0.0038% of Strategy’s 843,706 BTC treasury. However, the filing marked the company’s first reported sale since December 2022. It broke a long-running narrative that Michael Saylor never sells. Analysts have flagged Strategy’s capital pressure tied to a roughly $15 billion preferred stock load. A recent convertible debt buyback also drained cash.

Polymarket’s “MicroStrategy sells any Bitcoin by May 31, 2026?” event drew $85 million in total volume. The May 31 slice alone holds $53.86 million in open positions. On June 1, Polymarket said no MSTR filings, on-chain data, or credible reporting confirmed a sale in the window.

Polymarket markets settle through UMA oracle infrastructure. Repeated disputes escalate to UMA’s Data Verification Mechanism, where token holders vote within 48 to 96 hours. The 32 BTC sale is too small to move Bitcoin prices. However, more than $20 million in dispute-affected positions hinge on whether disclosure timing or event timing controls the outcome.

Jeff Bezos, Jensen Huang and SoftBank CEO Spotlight AI’s Biggest Debates

Three of tech’s most influential figures, Jeff Bezos, Jensen Huang, and Masayoshi Son, are publicly drawing the boundaries of the AI debate as roughly $380 billion has flowed into AI-related companies this year. Their commentary lands as Amazon reportedly warns staff over runaway token spending, sharpening the question of whether the AI boom reflects durable productivity gains or an inflating capital bubble.

AI-related companies have issued about $140 billion in investment-grade bonds this year, which is roughly 49% of total IG issuance. The same firms attracted around $220 billion in venture funding, or 87% of the total. High-yield credit added another $21 billion. Combined, AI-linked capital totaled about $380 billion across the three channels, or about 64% of all capital flows tracked. That intensity tracks with rising Big Tech AI capex, which BlackRock says now sets the macro market backdrop. SoftBank joined the buildout this week with a €75 billion ($87 billion) commitment to develop 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity in France, announced alongside French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.

Nvidia (NVDA) chief executive Jensen Huang dismissed claims that AI is hollowing out the labor market. Elsewhere, Masayoshi Son told CNBC the current cycle eclipses the late-1990s internet wave by a wide margin. Bezos has framed the moment as an industrial bubble rather than a financial one, arguing in recent remarks that even speculative excess leaves behind productive infrastructure once weaker projects fail.

Amazon executive David Treadwell asked staff to stop using AI for trivial tasks after the company reportedly burned through roughly half a billion dollars of tokens in a single month. Uber, Salesforce, Meta, and Microsoft have circulated similar internal cautions, while hyperscaler free cash flow is near a decade low.

Meanwhile, Matthew Sigel challenges the narrative that AI infrastructure is seven times more expensive than legacy systems. The VanEck strategist argues that flagship models can summarize a 500-page book for roughly $2.50, against $375 to $400 per million tokens for human-packaged content. Forecaster Will Sommer estimates that hyperscalers need about $7 trillion in revenue over the next three years to clear a 7% return on invested capital, a backdrop that has fed AI bubble revenue concerns and visible AI financing strains. The coming earnings cycles will test whether productivity gains close the gap before investors lose patience.

Ondo Finance will launch the RWA perpetual contract platform Ondo Perps, going live in a few weeks.

June 2nd news, Ondo Finance CEO Ian De Bode stated that Ondo Perps, the first perpetual contract platform built for Real World Assets (RWA), will be launched in the coming weeks.

[Cointelegraph]

Unable to recover from roughly $50 million hack, Radiant Capital is winding down

After spending 18 months trying to get back on track, Radiant Capital said Monday it is calling it quits, unable to recover from a roughly $50 million hack.

Radiant Capital said it hasn’t been able to recover a meaningful amount of funds since the 2024 exploit or raise fresh capital, so it plans to close operations, the firm said in an X post.

“The DAO no longer has a viable path forward,” Radiant said. “Over the past months, contributors and the community continued to operate under increasingly difficult conditions, working to support users, maintain the protocol, and pursue recovery. That effort was real. And it was consistent. But effort alone is not enough without recovery, capital, or growth.”

Back in October 2024, the omnichain money market Radiant Capital suffered an exploit on its Arbitrum and BNB Chain instances after an attacker deployed a backdoor contract to gain unauthorized access, Arkham Intelligence said at the time.

“Radiant capital has fallen victim to a hack causing $51 million in losses so far across Arbitrum and BNB chain,” a security researcher told The Block in 2024. “The Ethereum and Base deployments seem to be secure but we would warn anyone to be careful interacting with these contracts at this time.”

That attack came a few months after a flash loan attack that drained around 1900 ETH, worth $4.5 million at the time, from the Radiant protocol in early 2024.

Now, Radiant will transition into a “maintenance state” where the frontend and smart contracts remain live and accessible. “Users can withdraw, repay, and manage positions,” Radiant said, adding that recovery efforts continue. If any funds are retrieved, they will be returned to those affected, Radiant said.

Exploits continue to be a problem across crypto. Recently, DeFi Llama said the number of crypto hacks rose to a record monthly high in April. While the cumulative dollar amount of funds stolen didn’t set any new records, the total number of exploits in April easily exceeded 20 for what looks like the first time ever, DeFi Llama said.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

[The Block]

Vitalik Buterin Criticizes AI Nationalism as US Senator Pushes for 50% Stake in OpenAI

Vitalik Buterin criticized frontier AI companies for embracing AI nationalism on the same day that Senator Bernie Sanders unveiled a plan to push 50% of those firms into a federal sovereign wealth fund. The Ethereum (ETH) co-founder posted his rebuke as a quote-reply to the Sanders proposal, which would impose a one-time equity tax on OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, and other frontier labs and transfer their shares into public ownership.

Writing in the New York Times, Sanders outlined the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, planned for introduction within weeks. The fund would hold public equity, give the government voting shares, and seat representatives on each company’s board. Sanders argued that AI is trained on humanity’s collective knowledge, art, code, and conversations, so the wealth should not flow only to a few executives. He named Sam Altman and Elon Musk as figures whose ownership would shrink.

The targeted firms, several of which recently entered the trillion-dollar pre-IPO club, have not publicly responded. The proposal builds on his earlier AI regulation push and on the AI Data Center Moratorium Act, which he co-sponsored with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Sanders cited Norway’s oil sovereign wealth fund as a precedent.

Against this backdrop, Vitalik Buterin attacked the rhetoric driving frontier AI policy. He argued that labs, which once promised to serve all of humanity, now justify their concentration of power by pointing to China. His earlier writing on AI totalitarian risks pushed back against zero-sum framings. The US-China AI race has dominated industry lobbying.

Kevin Frazier, a law professor focused on AI policy, said Sanders’ essay reads as a warning shot to an industry that has avoided public input. The global AI regulation debate has split along familiar lines, with progressives backing public ownership and industry voices warning of a dampened investment climate. Sanders said the full bill text will follow soon.

UK Fintech OpenPayd Eyes $1.10 Billion Nasdaq IPO

OpenPayd announced plans to list on Nasdaq through a merger with Titan Acquisition Corp. The deal values the London-based payments platform at $1.145 billion on a pro-forma equity basis. Shares will trade under the ticker OP. Up to $276 million in gross proceeds will fund OpenPayd’s expansion into stablecoin and fiat payment orchestration.

Inside OpenPayd’s Nasdaq Listing: Titan Acquisition Corp., which trades on Nasdaq under TACHU, entered a definitive business combination agreement with OpenPayd. Closing is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to approval by Titan shareholders and customary regulatory conditions.

OpenPayd reported more than $85 million in annualized recurring revenue as of March 2026. The platform processes over $240 billion in annualized transaction volume. The company serves more than 1,100 businesses across 180 countries, including Kraken, eToro, OKX and B2C2. Proceeds from Titan’s trust account will strengthen the balance sheet and fund expansion across the United States. OpenPayd plans to invest in regulatory licenses, product development and deeper integration of stablecoin payment rails.

Why Stablecoin Infrastructure Drew Investors: The listing reflects investor focus on platforms bridging traditional finance and digital assets. Stablecoin transaction volumes reached approximately $33 trillion in 2025. A record $4.5 trillion moved in the first quarter of 2026 alone. Stablecoin market capitalization nears $320 billion as of this writing, hitting a fresh all-time high in the ongoing stablecoin market boom.

Real-world payments volume doubled in 2025 to roughly $400 billion, with about 60% representing business-to-business transactions. OpenPayd operates a single API connecting fiat rails, blockchain networks and stablecoin issuers. The company holds regulatory licenses across the United States, United Kingdom, European Economic Area, Canada and South Africa. That footprint positions OpenPayd within the broader stablecoin market growth story.

What to Watch Next: Founder Ozan Özerk framed the deal as a bet on programmable money and autonomous payment systems. He sees AI agents transacting across fiat and digital rails. The thesis aligns with the ongoing programmable money push across enterprise finance. Titan first listed in April 2025 and raised $276 million in its IPO. Redemption pressure from Titan shareholders ahead of closing will determine final proceeds and dilution for OpenPayd. The S-4 registration statement is expected to be filed with the SEC in the coming months. That filing will provide audited financials, growth projections and detailed risk disclosures. Tightening rules under the recent stablecoin regulation push could also shape OpenPayd’s compliance roadmap.

The three major U.S. stock indexes collectively closed higher, with HOOD falling more than 3.82%.

On June 2, according to Bybit market data, the three major U.S. stock indices all closed higher: the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.12%, the Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.58%, and the S&P 500 Index rose by 0.32%.

Crypto-related stocks broadly declined, with COIN (Coinbase) falling 3.04% intraday and HOOD (Robinhood) falling 3.82% intraday.

[PANews]

Google plans to raise $80 billion, with Berkshire Hathaway contributing $10 billion.

Alphabet (GOOG.O), the parent company of Google, is raising $80 billion through an equity offering, including an investment agreement with Berkshire Hathaway, to fund its ambitious artificial intelligence spending plan.

In its announcement, Alphabet disclosed that this financing initiative includes a $30 billion underwritten public offering and a $40 billion “at-the-market” (ATM) transaction. As part of this financing plan, Berkshire Hathaway will purchase $10 billion worth of shares via a private placement: Alphabet will issue $5 billion worth of Class A common stock to Berkshire at $351.81 per share, and an additional $5 billion worth of Class C common stock at $348.20 per share.

The company stated in its press release: “AI demand has already exceeded our current supply capacity. By scaling up our investments, we aim to expand our infrastructure to robustly support future massive growth opportunities.”

[Odaily]

Anthropic has secretly filed an IPO application with the US SEC.

TON revives Gram token brand as Telegram CEO Durov says network is ‘returning to roots’

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov said Monday that The Open Network’s native cryptocurrency (TON) will be renamed Gram, reviving the original name proposed in the project’s first white paper as part of his ongoing “Make TON Great Again” initiative.

“Gram was the original name of TON’s currency in the first white paper,” Durov wrote in a Telegram post. “We’re returning to our roots — and starting a new chapter.”

The transition is expected to take around three weeks, according to Durov, who said TON will remain the name of the blockchain while Gram becomes the name of the native currency.

The rebrand is the fourth of seven planned steps in Durov’s MTONGA campaign, though the remaining three steps have not yet been publicly disclosed.

Durov first outlined the transition in April when he celebrated a network upgrade that he said made TON “ten times faster” and introduced sub-second transaction settling. The other two steps that have been revealed included reducing transaction fees by roughly sixfold and announcing plans for Telegram to replace the TON Foundation as the ecosystem’s primary steward and largest validator.

The Gram rebranding restores the name originally envisioned by Telegram’s blockchain project, which referred to TON, an acronym of Telegram Open Network at the time, and its native Gram cryptocurrency.

Telegram launched the original TON project in 2018 but abandoned it in 2020 after a contentious legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission forced Telegram to halt sales of its Gram tokens, saying it violated securities laws. This then led to a slew of lawsuits from investors seeking refunds on their token purchases.

Independent developers later picked up the project, continuing under the TON name as The Open Network, and the blockchain has since become integrated with Telegram’s ecosystem of apps that primarily focus on payments and digital asset trading integrations.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

[The Block]

Grayscale nears Hyperliquid ETFs launch as fee race tightens

Grayscale has moved closer to launching its Hyperliquid exchange-traded fund after adding a 0.29% sponsor fee and HYPG ticker to its amended registration filing. The Securities and Exchange Commission filing submitted Monday shows that Grayscale updated its S-1 registration statement for the Grayscale Hyperliquid Staking ETF. The amendment adds the fund’s fee structure and proposed ticker, bringing the product nearer to the U.S. market as demand for HYPE-linked funds grows.

According to Grayscale’s amended filing, the proposed ETF will charge a 0.29% sponsor fee. The fee sits below the 0.30% charged by 21Shares’ THYP and below Bitwise’s BHYP, which charges 0% for the first month before moving to 0.34%.

Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart said in a Monday post on X that he expects Grayscale’s fund to launch this week. Seyffart described the launch as likely imminent after the latest amendment appeared, noting: “When i say imminent i mean that i am expecting the launch this week. Here’s an image for the fee. pic.twitter.com/4v3DMI4Aab”

The planned fund would become the third U.S.-listed Hyperliquid ETF, following products from 21Shares and Bitwise. Grayscale’s lower fee gives the firm a price advantage as issuers compete for early HYPE ETF assets. 21Shares launched its Hyperliquid ETF on Nasdaq on May 12 under the ticker THYP, and the firm also launched a 2x leveraged version under the ticker TXXH.

As previously reported by crypto.news, 21Shares said THYP pulled in more than $5 million within days of its debut. Eli Ndinga, global head of research at 21Shares, said the early demand showed investor interest in round-the-clock access to crypto-linked markets. Ndinga also argued that Hyperliquid priced the Iran shock 48 hours before traditional venues, while CME markets were closed. He described the protocol as an important 24/7 infrastructure for traders and investors.

HYPE-linked ETFs had attracted more than $132 million in cumulative net inflows by last month, according to the figures cited in the report. Hyperliquid operates as a decentralized derivatives exchange where users trade on-chain perpetual futures. Its native token, HYPE, had a market value of about $16.1 billion and ranked as the tenth-largest crypto asset by market cap, according to the report. Perpetual futures do not expire, unlike traditional futures contracts. Traders use them to take exposure to asset price moves without owning the asset directly.

Trump: Doesn’t care if negotiations with Iran end, oil prices will fall soon

Local time on Monday, U.S. President Trump said in an interview with CNBC, “To be honest, I don’t care if the negotiations are over.” When asked about reports that Iranian negotiators had stopped communicating with the U.S. due to Israel’s military operations in Lebanon, Trump responded, “I really don’t care.”

Trump told CNBC that he “will ask” Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu “what exactly is going on in Lebanon.” He also said he was not worried about oil prices.

Earlier, a report in Iranian state media caused oil prices to rise sharply, saying that Tehran would not only stop negotiations, but also vowed to “completely block” the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said, “I think oil prices will fall like a rock in the near future, in a very short period of time.”

[Odaily]

Michael Saylor Breaks Silence After Strategy Sells $2.5 Million in Bitcoin

Disclosure: The author of this story owns shares in Strategy (MSTR).
Strategy (MSTR) Executive Chairman Michael Saylor appeared to underscore the company’s focus on its perpetual preferred stock, making STRC the focus of his first public comment after the largest publicly traded holder of bitcoin (BTC) sold the cryptocurrency to fund dividend payments on the instrument.

“Our goal is to make STRC the best credit instrument in the world,” Saylor wrote on X on Monday.

The post came after the company said it sold 32 bitcoin for about $2.5 million last week. Proceeds from the sale “are expected to be used to fund distributions on preferred stock,” it said in an 8-K filing.

While the filing directly linked the sale to the dividend payment, Saylor’s decision to highlight the equity rather than the bitcoin sale is likely to reinforce investor perceptions that the company is increasingly focused on building its preferred stock while growing bitcoin exposure on a per-share basis.

Saylor has repeatedly argued that Strategy evaluates financing and capital allocation decisions through the lens of bitcoin per share and increasing shareholder value rather than simply maximizing the amount of bitcoin it owns.

Buy high, sell low

A running joke among crypto followers on X, the so-called Crypto Twitter, is that Strategy always buys bitcoin at the weekly high.

Yet the company’s only previous bitcoin sale took place in December 2022, when the largest cryptocurrency was priced at roughly $18,000, just weeks after the collapse of crypto exchange FTX pushed prices to a cycle low near $15,000.

This time, it sold at an average price of $77,135, with bitcoin now trading around $70,000 after falling as low as $60,000 in February. The question is whether it has again sold near a market bottom.

Google Stock Drops as $80 Billion AI Fundraising Plan Sparks Dilution Concerns

Alphabet (GOOGL) has set an $80 billion equity capital raise to fund AI infrastructure expansion. Berkshire Hathaway has committed $10 billion to the offering as its anchor institutional investor.

Investors sent GOOGL shares lower on the news. The stock closed at $372.58 on Monday, down 1.02%. Shares slipped another 1.50% to $367 in after-hours trading as dilution worries offset the institutional vote.

Inside the $80 Billion AI Capital Raise: The raise lands as Alphabet ramps up AI capital intensity. Management’s 2026 capex guidance sits at $180 billion to $190 billion, roughly double 2025’s $91.4 billion. Google Cloud reported $20 billion in Q1 2026 revenue, a 63% jump, with a $460 billion contract backlog.

Equity is a notable financing pivot. Issuing stock brings in permanent capital without further loading a balance sheet already absorbing record big tech AI capex. Hyperscalers’ free cash flow has compressed sharply this cycle.

Berkshire’s $10 Billion Vote: Berkshire tripled its Alphabet stake to roughly 58 million shares in Q1 2026. The holding was valued near $17 billion. A direct $10 billion subscription would push Berkshire among the largest non-insider holders. The commitment marks a shift under new CEO Greg Abel, who succeeded Warren Buffett. Berkshire’s record cash position reached $397.4 billion at quarter-end.

Dilution Versus Growth: Issuing $80 billion against Alphabet’s $4.5 trillion market cap implies dilution of about 1.8%. BlackRock’s recent capex warning flagged that company-level spending now moves macro markets. The next test comes from official SEC filings. Whether Monday’s selloff was a one-day dilution reflex remains an open question. A broader repricing of AI capex risk should become clearer soon.

Grayscale sets 0.29% fee for its Hyperliquid ETF, undercutting Bitwise and 21Shares

Grayscale is set to launch its own Hyperliquid exchange-traded fund, setting a sponsor fee of 0.29%, coming in just under other firms that have debuted similar funds.

On Monday, Grayscale filed an amendment to its S-1 registration statement for its Grayscale Hyperliquid Staking ETF with the Securities and Exchange Commission, with changes including the new fee and the ticker symbol, HYPG.

The ETF will be the third of its kind to launch, following Bitwise’s BHYP Hyperliquid ETF, which has a 0% fee for the first month and thereafter a 0.34% fee, and 21Shares’ THYP with a fee of 0.30%.

In a Monday post on X, Bloomberg Intelligence ETF Analyst James Seyffart said he is anticipating that Grayscale will launch its fund this week. “Launch likely imminent for Grayscale’s Hyperliquid ETF,” Seyffart said. “When I say imminent, I mean that I am expecting the launch this week,” he added.

Hyperliquid is a decentralized derivatives exchange that lets people trade perpetual futures onchain. It has a native token called HYPE, the tenth largest with a market cap of $16.1 billion, according to The Block’s price data.

Perpetuals, or perps, are a type of futures contract that don’t have an expiration date and allow people to bet on the price movement of assets without owning them directly. They’ve become increasingly popular in crypto derivatives trading — and regulators have since weighed in.

Last week, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission opened the door for those contracts, allowing crypto and prediction market heavyweights like Coinbase and Kalshi to launch related products for the first time in the United States.

As for ETFs, HYPE funds have attracted record numbers as of last month, with over $132 million in cumulative net inflows.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

[The Block]

Strive plans to expand its stock issuance program by $4.2 billion and is expected to have acquired 2,649 bitcoins last week.

Strive has announced an expansion of its ATM (At-The-Market) stock offering programs for both its common stock and SATA preferred stock, each by $2.1 billion, totaling $4.2 billion. Upon completion, the common stock ATM program will increase to $2.55 billion, and the SATA preferred stock program will increase to $2.6 billion. CEO Matt Cole stated that this move reflects continued growth in liquidity and investor demand.

It is estimated that last week, Strive acquired approximately 2,649 Bitcoin over four trading days, valued at roughly $193 million, including 1,179 Bitcoin purchased on Friday alone. Strive currently holds approximately 16,500 Bitcoin, ranking seventh among publicly listed companies holding Bitcoin.

The SATA preferred stock carries an annualized dividend yield of 13% and will begin daily dividend payments starting June 16.

[PANews]

Buy and sell activities diverged: one newly created address withdrew 180,000 HYPE from Coinbase and staked them, while another address sold 238,811 HYPE to realize a profit of $1.3 million.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, some whales or institutions are buying HYPE, while others are selling.

A newly created address withdrew 180,000 HYPE from Coinbase, worth $13.18 million, and staked it.

Another address sold 238,811 HYPE, worth $16.30 million, realizing a profit of $1.30 million; it currently still has 10,000 HYPE staked.

[Odaily]

One wallet bought 180,000 HYPE tokens and staked them, while another wallet sold 239,000 HYPE tokens for a profit of $1.30 million.

June 2nd news, according to Onchain Lens monitoring, some whales or institutions are buying HYPE, while others are selling.

The new wallet “0x9C4” withdrew 180,000 HYPE ($13.1800 million) from Coinbase and sent them for staking.

Wallet “0x913” sold 238,811.0000 HYPE for $16.3000 million, making a profit of $1.3000 million, and still has 10,000 HYPE staked.

[PANews]

Dimon fight deepens as Coinbase pushes for CLARITY Act passage

Coinbase has intensified its push for U.S. crypto market rules as Senate lawmakers prepare for a decisive vote on the CLARITY Act this month. Shirzad said on Fox Business’ Mornings with Maria that the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act could become the most important financial regulation bill since Dodd-Frank. The Coinbase chief policy officer argued that the bill would finally give digital asset firms clear rules in the United States.

The legislation cleared the Senate Banking Committee on May 14 in a 15-9 vote. Democratic Senators Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland joined Republicans in supporting the measure. However, the bill still needs 60 votes in the Senate to advance on the floor. In the interview, Shirzad said Republicans remain largely united behind the bill. He also said several Senate Democrats want to finish the legislation after nearly 80 House Democrats supported the measure.

Senator Cynthia Lummis warned on X on May 29 that Congress may not get another serious chance to pass digital asset legislation until 2030. According to Lummis, developers would remain exposed without legal protections if lawmakers fail to act during this Congress. The next window for digital asset legislation after this Congress is likely 2030. Until then, developers remain exposed with no legal protections, and law enforcement remains without the tools to hold bad actors accountable. The Clarity Act solves both.

President Donald Trump has also made crypto legislation a priority for his administration. In a Truth Social post, Trump backed a “future-proof” digital asset market framework, while his team has targeted a July 4 signing date. Shirzad described the bill as a way for banks to enter the crypto sector under clearer federal rules. He said the legislation would give banks new authority to participate in digital assets for the first time since the 1990s.

According to Shirzad, JPMorgan and other major banks want access to the crypto market. He said Coinbase would welcome traditional financial firms if Congress creates a legal structure for their participation. Coinbase also gained a separate regulatory win on May 29. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued guidance allowing Coinbase Financial Markets to connect U.S. institutional clients to global crypto derivatives markets. Shirzad called the CFTC move a major regulatory unlock. He said the decision supports Trump’s stated goal of bringing more crypto market activity onto U.S. soil.

One unresolved political fight involves stablecoin rewards. Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks reached a compromise in May that blocks rewards economically similar to bank deposit interest while allowing activity-based incentives. Shirzad said Tillis and Alsobrooks have made clear that the compromise language is fixed. He said they plan to defend that language with other lawmakers.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon criticized the bill during a May 28 interview with Maria Bartiromo. Dimon said crypto platforms should operate as banks if they want bank-like privileges. Dimon also raised concerns about anti-money laundering rules and Bank Secrecy Act enforcement. He said banks would not accept the bill without changes. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong responded online with a hockey-themed meme after Dimon criticized his description of banks’ position. Shirzad later noted that JPMorgan remains Coinbase’s bank, even after disagreements over crypto policy.