CLARITY Stalled. Inside the SEC's Plan for Onchain Markets

CoinDesk's The Policy Protocol hosts Rebecca Rettig and Renato Mariotti unpack the stalling of the CLARITY Act in the Senate before sitting down with Taylor Lindman, Chief Counsel of the SEC's Crypto Task Force, who explains why the newly unveiled innovation exemption is being resoundingly well-received across TradFi and crypto, and how much the SEC can accomplish under existing authority without Congress. Lindman also weighs in on 24/7 markets and reassures that the Crypto Task Force's work continues regardless of Commissioner Hester Peirce's departure. Plus, Rebecca and Renato debrief on whether AI needs its own regulator, and name Demis Hassabis as their Person of the Week for proposing a FINRA-style standards body for frontier AI models. - This episode is brought to you by Grayscale, the world's largest digital asset-focused investment platform. Grayscale's mission is to make digital asset investing simple and open to every investor. Learn more at grayscale.com. - This episode is brought to you by RealFi, a smarter stablecoin, backed by real-world assets. Join the Testnet now at realfi.co. - Chapters/Timecodes: 00:00 Welcome to The Policy Protocol 01:09 Hot Topic: CLARITY Stalls in the Senate 02:06 The Ethics Fight That Sank the Bill 03:28 Why the Regulators Are Now Leading 03:47 How Hard It Is to Undo a Rule 05:13 EU Rolls Back MiCA as the UK Pushes Ahead 05:52 The SEC and CFTC Roundtable Blitz 06:46 Taylor Linman, SEC Crypto Task Force, Joins 06:56 The Innovation Exemption and Its Reception 08:52 What the SEC Can Do Without Congress 11:11 Inside the 24/7 Trading Roundtable 12:00 Liquidity Providers, Dealers, and the Cold Start Problem 13:31 Piecing Together the Future of On-Chain Trading 16:17 Does Peirce's Exit Change the Task Force? 17:04 Debrief: Plumbing, Not Main Character Energy 18:28 Person of the Week: Demis Hassabis 20:05 Does AI Need Its Own Regulator?