Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) is making a simple argument: America built the dollar-based financial system that kept the world stable for a century. Now, she says, it's time to build the next one — or let Beijing do it.
In a post on X over the weekend, Lummis called for swift passage of the Clarity Act, a bill that would create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. "The Clarity Act ensures we build the next one. The time to act is now — before Beijing decides it will," she wrote.
It's a classic geopolitical framing: the U.S. either leads the digital asset revolution or cedes ground to China. But the reality is a bit more complicated.
Where the Clarity Act Stands
The Clarity Act has already cleared the Senate Banking Committee, with some Democrats crossing the aisle to join Republicans in support. It also has the full backing of the Trump administration. President Donald Trump has promised a "future-proof" regulatory framework for crypto, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has urged Congress to pass the bill, calling it critical for the future of digital assets.
But not everyone is on board. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the ranking member of the Banking Committee, has been a vocal opponent. Her main concern? Conflicts of interest involving Trump and his family's crypto ventures. She argues the bill doesn't do enough to address those issues.
Is China Really a Threat?
Lummis and other Republicans have repeatedly framed the crypto debate as a matter of national competitiveness. But China's relationship with crypto is complicated. Between 2013 and 2021, Beijing issued a series of restrictions that ultimately banned all cryptocurrency transactions and mining. In September 2021, China's central bank formally declared all digital-asset trading illegal, and it reaffirmed that stance in November.
Instead of embracing decentralized crypto, China has focused on its own central bank digital currency, the Digital Yuan. So the threat isn't that China will dominate Bitcoin — it's that China could build a state-controlled digital financial system that rivals the dollar-based one.
Lummis's point is that the U.S. needs to act now to shape the rules of the road. Whether the Clarity Act is the right vehicle — and whether it can overcome political headwinds — remains to be seen. But the clock is ticking.
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