Cuomo Urges Congress to Pass CLARITY Act: ‘Just Tell Me the Rules’

Former New York governor and ICE-OKX joint venture co-chair, Andrew Cuomo is calling on U.S. lawmakers to move quickly on the CLARITY Act. He says the crypto industry is not looking for special treatment, it simply wants clear regulations. Speaking on Bloomberg Crypto, Cuomo urged Congress to pass the bill before lawmakers leave for the August 7 recess. This comes after the White House’s earlier July 4 target was missed.

According to Cuomo, years of regulatory uncertainty have made it difficult for crypto businesses to operate confidently in the United States.

“What the companies are saying is tell me the rules. Tell me the regulations. I need a referee. Just tell me where the lines are on the field and what I can do and what I can’t do.” He said. 

‘Don’t Make This Partisan’

Rather than blaming one political party for the delay, Cuomo warned lawmakers against turning crypto regulation into another partisan fight.

“You don’t want to make this partisan. You don’t want to blame Democrats. You don’t want to blame Republicans because that is the problem. Pointing fingers doesn’t work.” He added. 

He acknowledged that Democrats have legitimate concerns around consumer protection, anti-money laundering (AML) rules, and know-your-customer (KYC) requirements. He also added that those safeguards should remain part of any final legislation.

According to him, “democrats have concerns. They want consumer protections. They should have them. They want to make sure that AML, KYC is all in place. That should be in place.” 

Instead of calling Democrats the obstacle, he said lawmakers simply need to resolve the remaining issues quickly.

Crypto Has Waited Long Enough

Cuomo argued that governments have historically taken years to regulate new financial innovations, including electronic trading and credit default swaps. However, he believes crypto has been waiting far longer than it should.

“Government has often lagged behind changes in the market… But this is an extraordinarily long period of time.” Cuomo said. 

He pointed out that cryptocurrencies began gaining traction around 2009, yet the U.S. still lacks a comprehensive regulatory framework.

For him, the CLARITY Act is aptly named because it would finally provide the legal certainty the industry has been seeking. With Congress now facing the August recess deadline, pressure is mounting on lawmakers to reach a bipartisan agreement. Finally, this would establish clear rules for the U.S. crypto market.