Kevin O’Leary, the outspoken venture capitalist best known for his role on Shark Tank, recently shared his view that the United States Congress is likely to bring the long‑delayed "Clarity" legislation back onto the floor early next year. His comments came as the House Ways and Means Committee advanced a comprehensive tax bill that would finally lay out clear reporting and liability rules for a wide range of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and non‑fungible tokens (NFTs). O’Leary’s remarks underscore a growing sense among policymakers that the crypto industry cannot continue to operate in a regulatory vacuum, especially after a series of high‑profile collapses and scandals that have shaken investor confidence.
In his interview, O’Leary explained that the tax bill, which is currently moving through the legislative process, is expected to establish a framework for how crypto gains and losses are calculated, how transactions are reported to the Internal Revenue Service, and how foreign crypto holdings are treated for tax purposes. He emphasized that the bill’s passage will create a much‑needed baseline of certainty for both individual investors and institutional players. "When you finally have a clear set of tax rules, you remove a huge amount of risk for anyone holding or trading digital assets," O’Leary said. "That alone should encourage more capital to flow back into the market." However, O’Leary warned that tax clarity alone will not be sufficient to restore the health of the crypto ecosystem.
He pointed to the stalled "Clarity Act," formally known as the Digital Asset Market Structure Act, which was first introduced in 2022 but has yet to receive a vote. The legislation aims to modernize the United States' approach to crypto exchanges, custodians, and other service providers by establishing a licensing regime, imposing capital‑adequacy requirements, and creating consumer‑protection standards that are comparable to those governing traditional securities and commodities markets. According to O’Leary, the market‑structure component of the regulatory agenda is just as critical as the tax component because it addresses the underlying infrastructure that enables trading, settlement, and custody of digital assets.
"If you have clear tax rules but you still have a fragmented, poorly regulated exchange landscape, you’re still leaving investors exposed to fraud, market manipulation, and operational failures," he argued. "That is why there will be pressure on Congress to finally revive the Clarity bill and give it the attention it deserves." The push for a revived Clarity Act is being driven by several forces. First, major financial institutions that have been cautiously testing the waters of crypto services are demanding a level playing field.
Banks such as JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs have signaled that they would be more willing to provide custodial services, prime brokerage, and lending facilities for crypto if they could rely on a consistent regulatory regime. Second, the U.S. Treasury Department has indicated that it will enforce stricter anti‑money‑laundering (AML) and know‑your‑customer (KYC) standards on crypto businesses, which many industry participants view as a catalyst for broader legislative action.
Finally, consumer advocacy groups are lobbying for stronger safeguards after the collapse of high‑profile platforms like FTX, which left countless retail investors with significant losses. O’Leary also highlighted the international context. Europe and several Asian jurisdictions have already enacted or are in the process of enacting comprehensive crypto regulations that cover both tax treatment and market structure.
The European Union’s Markets in Crypto‑Assets (MiCA) framework, for instance, provides a detailed licensing scheme for crypto service providers and sets out consumer‑protection obligations. In contrast, the United States remains the only major economy where the legislative process is still fragmented and uncertain. This disparity, O’Leary believes, could lead to a competitive disadvantage for U.S. firms, prompting capital to migrate to more predictable jurisdictions.
The timeline suggested by O’Leary—early next year—coincides with the typical congressional calendar, when the House and Senate return from recess and begin work on pending bills. He expects that the tax bill, once enacted, will create a legislative momentum that lawmakers can leverage to address the broader market‑structure issues. "Legislation often moves in packages," he noted.
"When you finally get the tax piece through, the same committees will naturally look at the other pieces that are still pending, especially if there is industry pressure and public demand for stronger consumer protections." In practical terms, the revival of the Clarity Act could mean several concrete changes for the crypto industry. Licensing requirements would likely obligate exchanges to meet minimum capital thresholds, undergo regular audits, and implement robust cybersecurity measures.
Custodians might be required to segregate client assets and maintain insurance coverage against theft or loss. Additionally, the act could introduce a framework for the registration of crypto assets as securities or commodities, depending on their characteristics, thereby clarifying the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) versus the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Such clarity would reduce the current legal ambiguity that has led to costly litigation and enforcement actions. From an investor’s perspective, the combined effect of clear tax rules and a regulated market structure could lower transaction costs, improve price discovery, and enhance overall market confidence. Retail investors would benefit from standardized disclosures and dispute‑resolution mechanisms, while institutional investors would gain access to a more stable and transparent environment for deploying large sums of capital.
O’Leary predicts that these improvements could reignite the flow of venture capital into crypto startups, revive the pace of innovation in areas such as decentralized finance (DeFi), and potentially restore the United States’ position as a global leader in blockchain technology. In summary, Kevin O’Leary’s outlook paints a picture of a near‑future where Congress, under the twin pressures of tax certainty and market‑structure reform, is likely to revisit and potentially pass the long‑awaited Clarity legislation. The tax bill’s advancement provides the first piece of the puzzle, creating a foundation of fiscal clarity that can be built upon with stronger regulatory standards for exchanges, custodians, and other crypto service providers.
If Congress follows through, the United States could see a more resilient, transparent, and competitive crypto market, benefitting investors, businesses, and the broader economy alike.