Major US Crypto Exchanges Lobby to Remove Asset Manipulation Restrictions from CLARITY Act

Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini urged lawmakers in 2026 to remove a provision from the CLARITY Act that bars listing digital assets at risk of manipulation, according to POLITICO reporting on May 8, 2026. The three major US crypto exchanges are pushing to eliminate the manipulation protection clause as the legislation has been delayed for months in Congress. The CLARITY Act is a proposed framework for regulating the crypto market.

CLARITY Act lobbying effort

• ▪Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini urged lawmakers earlier in 2026 to scrap a provision from the CLARITY Act.
• ▪Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini are three of the United States' largest crypto exchanges.
• ▪POLITICO reported on May 8, 2026 that Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini pushed lawmakers to change the CLARITY Act.

Asset manipulation restrictions

• ▪The CLARITY Act contains a provision barring the listing of certain digital assets at risk of manipulation.
• ▪Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini requested that lawmakers remove the provision barring the listing of certain digital assets at risk of manipulation.

Congressional crypto framework delay

• ▪The CLARITY Act has been delayed for months in Congress as of May 2026.
• ▪The CLARITY Act is a framework for the crypto market.

Perspective of Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini

• ▪The three exchanges are seeking to ease restrictions on trading assets that regulators consider risky or subject to manipulation.
• ▪Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini view the CLARITY Act's manipulation risk provision as an unnecessary restriction on their ability to list digital assets.

3 sources