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Crypto Dealmaking Continues After Clarity Act Stall as SEC

Crypto Dealmaking Continues After Clarity Act Stall as SEC

Bankers quoted by CoinDesk say the Senate failure of the Clarity Act has not slowed crypto M&A, pointing to SEC and CFTC action. Whether agency guidance is durable enough to underwrite deals is the question the reporting leaves open.

Crypto dealmaking has not paused after the Clarity Act failed a Senate vote, according to CoinDesk, which quotes bankers who say SEC and CFTC action already supplies much of the certainty investors want. The open question is durability: agency proposals can change, and no cited source says how acquirers are pricing that.

The Ledger Desk · 4 min read

The Clarity Act's failure in the Senate has not frozen crypto dealmaking, according to CoinDesk. It reports the bill drew 49 votes in favor and 50 against on Sept. 15, 2026, short of the 60 needed. Bankers and investors quoted by the outlet say the SEC and CFTC are already supplying much of the regulatory certainty the legislation was meant to provide, so transactions are proceeding.

Deal value is high, but concentrated

CoinDesk, citing CryptoRank Research, reports disclosed crypto M&A value of $9.7 billion in the first half of 2026, up 44% year over year, across 87 announced acquisitions, down 8%. The four largest deals made up 76% of disclosed value. These figures come from a trade-press account of a third-party dataset and were not checked against filings here. Read as reported, they describe a market where value sits in a few large transactions while deal count falls.

Large strategic buyers anchor the headline

CoinDesk names Payward, the parent of Kraken, as the acquirer in two of the larger transactions: Reap at $600 million and Bitnomial at up to $550 million, and reports a $100 million investment in Payward by Nasdaq. These are CoinDesk's reported figures and were not confirmed against company filings for this piece. The pattern is consistent with well-capitalized strategic buyers driving the headline total, though the reporting does not say these are the four largest deals.

The SEC is acting through rulemaking

The SEC announced on Oct. 1, 2026 a proposal to modernize custody rules for registered investment advisers and regulated funds that hold crypto assets. According to its press release, the proposal would permit self-custody under certain circumstances and allow state trust companies to serve as custodians. The comment period runs 60 days after the proposing release is published in the Federal Register, so the rules are proposed, not final.

Market participants expect uneven effects

CoinDesk quotes Will Nuelle, general partner at Galaxy Ventures, saying deal activity has already concentrated in categories the SEC and CFTC have de-risked. Jake Brukhman, founder and CEO of CoinFund, is quoted saying the failure does not create a new drag so much as preserve existing regulatory uncertainty. Dmitriy Berenzon of Archetype is quoted saying a clearer legal framework would result in more deals. All three are opinions attributed to those speakers.

The open risk is reversibility

This section is inference rather than reported fact. A proposed agency rule goes through public comment and can be revised before adoption, and adopted rules can later be changed by agency action, whereas a statute is harder to alter. Deal models built on current agency posture therefore carry some regulatory-change risk that legislation would reduce. Neither cited source says how acquirers are pricing that risk or negotiating for it.

What deal teams should watch next

Three developments are worth tracking: the outcome of the SEC custody comment period, whether Senate talks on the Clarity Act resume, and whether second-half deal counts recover or stay concentrated in a few large transactions. For corporate-development and compliance teams, the practical step is to identify which assumptions in a deal depend on proposed rather than final agency positions and to document them.

Did the Clarity Act's Senate failure stop crypto deals?
Not according to CoinDesk's reporting. It quotes bankers and investors who say the SEC and CFTC are already providing regulatory certainty, and it reports that deal activity continues.
What did the SEC propose on October 1, 2026?
The SEC proposed updated custody rules for registered investment advisers and regulated funds holding crypto assets. Per its press release, the proposal would permit self-custody under certain circumstances and allow state trust companies as custodians, with a 60-day comment period after Federal Register publication.
Why might agency-led clarity be less durable than legislation?
This is an inference, not a reported finding: a proposed agency rule goes through comment and can be revised, while a statute is harder to change. Neither source says how acquirers are treating that risk in deal terms.
  1. The Clarity Act stalled. Bankers aren't hitting the brakes yet on crypto dealmaking — CoinDesk
  2. SEC proposal would address how investment advisers and funds can custody crypto assets under federal securities laws — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission