There have been major developments in crypto regulation over the past 24 hours, coming from two of the world’s most powerful nations: the United States and Russia. These two have been geopolitical rivals for decades and now the race is on to become the global hub for Bitcoin and digital assets. The competition does not stop there. Major players in the Middle East are also stepping up to stake their claim in this new financial arms race.
Let’s start with the United States. One of Trump’s key election promises was to make America the global hub for crypto by improving regulation and building Strategic Reserves. In 2025, we saw real progress on both fronts. The US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve was officially established, and several major regulatory bills were passed. Among them was the GENIUS Act, also known as the Stablecoin Act, which was signed into law. Now, attention has turned to the Clarity Act, the long-anticipated crypto market structure bill being developed by the Senate Banking Committee.
It was originally set to be introduced on January 15th before being pushed to later in the month. In the past 24 hours, however, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has pulled his support after reviewing the draft version of the bill. This marks a significant shift. Armstrong has been working closely with the current administration on crypto policy and has now publicly pulled support from the proposal due to what he calls “many issues”. These include:
A de facto ban on tokenised equities
Restrictions on DeFi that give the government unrestricted access to financial records and eliminate financial privacy
Erosion of the CFTC’s authority, placing it beneath the SEC and stifling innovation
Amendments that could eliminate stablecoin rewards and give banks the power to shut out competition
These proposals are deeply concerning. Although the bill is being presented as regulation, it shows clearly that not all regulation is good regulation. As Armstrong stated, “We would rather have no bill than a bad bill”.
While the American bill stumbles, Russia has finalised its own draft legislation to legalise crypto trading. The timing is hard to ignore.
Regulation is coming. It is essential that industry leaders and long-term advocates for Bitcoin’s true purpose, such as Stormrake and Coinbase, are involved in shaping it to ensure the core principles of cryptocurrency are preserved. If regulation becomes overreaching or invasive, it could do more harm than good. This is why it is crucial to get positioned before it arrives. Clear regulation will attract institutional capital and drive prices higher, but more importantly, being ahead means maintaining full control of your assets. Sovereignty matters, and being prepared before regulatory frameworks are imposed is key.
The reality is that the average person is not voting on crypto regulation. These decisions are being made by politicians, and most will back whatever serves their own interests best, whether that is financial or political control.
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