Will Bitcoin Become Legal Tender in the U.S.? Plus, Why Crypto Isn’t Waiting for CLARITY

On this episode of CoinDesk's Public Keys from the New York Stock Exchange, host Jennifer Sanasie is joined by Strike CEO Jack Mallers, who explains why he stepped down as CEO of Twenty One Capital, makes his case for bitcoin as "the most American money," and unpacks the launch of Strike Private. Zero Knowledge Group Founder and CEO Austin Campbell breaks down the CLARITY Act's failure to advance in the Senate, why the GENIUS Act has already reshaped the regulatory landscape, and how crypto has become caught in a broader fight over congressional ethics heading into the midterms. Plus, Christian Lopez, Managing Director and Head of Blockchain and Digital Assets at Cohen & Company Capital Management, on the Fed's rate hike, how Anthropic's looming IPO is soaking up market liquidity, and why the tokenization of real-world assets is pulling Wall Street into crypto. - Learn more at bullish.com. - Register now for CoinDesk's Policy and Regulation event on September 22, 2026: policy-regulation.coindesk.com. - To get market-moving news delivered daily, download CoinDesk's mobile app: linktr.ee/coindeskapp. - Chapters/Timecodes: 00:00 Welcome to Public Keys 00:26 Markets: Bitcoin Tops $85K After the Fed Hike 00:50 Oil, Iran and the Trump-Xi Summit 01:13 Anthropic Pushes Its IPO to November 01:31 Strike CEO Jack Mallers Joins 02:04 Why Mallers Left Twenty One Capital 04:28 Mallers' Bitcoin Outlook and Advice 06:22 Why Bitcoin Doesn't Need the CLARITY Act 08:19 Bitcoin as Legal Tender and 'The Most American Money' 09:50 Inside Strike Private and Bitcoin-Backed Loans 13:10 Austin Campbell on the CLARITY Act's Senate Defeat 14:58 Why GENIUS Already Changed the Game 16:01 Crypto, the Midterms and the Ethics Fight 18:00 Could a Future Administration Undo the Rules? 19:47 Stablecoins as the Leading Force 21:35 Bitcoin and Ether ETF Flows 22:24 Christian Lopez on the Fed and Risk Assets 24:28 How the Anthropic IPO Soaks Up Liquidity 26:21 Q3 Earnings and Tokenizing Real-World Assets 28:44 Why TradFi Is Racing Into Crypto