Industry veterans play down immediate impact on prices
Veteran trader Peter Brandt doesn’t think the potential passage of the US Clarity Act will do much to shake up the price of Bitcoin. He told Cointelegraph that while the legislation is necessary, it should not redefine the value of Bitcoin. “Regulating an asset, especially an asset that hard-core investors never wanted to be regulated, is not an earth-shattering event,” Brandt explained.
His comments came after White House crypto and AI advisor David Sacks said last Thursday that they were “closer than ever” to passing the landmark crypto market structure legislation. Sacks added that they look forward to finishing the work in January.
Already taken into account, according to some
Brandt does not see the Clarity Act as a catalyst that will return Bitcoin to its all-time high of $125,100. But he stressed that the legislation would still be a positive step for the entire crypto industry. “The Clarity Act would be positive because it would significantly clarify the regulatory structure of crypto assets,” he said.
John Glover, chief investment officer at Ledn, shares a similar view. He told Cointelegraph that the potential passage of the Clarity Act had already “been priced in by the market.” Glover does not expect the event to have a significant impact on the markets on day one, suggesting that benefits on price action will likely come later.
“This is another step toward widespread acceptance of Bitcoin and ETH as investment assets,” Glover noted. “So over time, I still expect the price trajectory to be up and to the right over time.”
Bitcoin Price Outlook
Brandt gave his views on Bitcoin’s current position in the market. He believes Bitcoin is in a bear market, although he said the Clarity Act could mean its “downward bias is moderate.” Specifically, Brandt believes that the charts suggest that Bitcoin could fall all the way to the $60,000 level, likely in the third quarter of 2026.
This would represent a drop of around 31% from the price of Bitcoin at press time, which was around $88,000 according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Legislative progress
The bill has been a priority not only for the crypto industry, but also for pro-crypto lawmakers. On December 9, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, a member of the US Senate Banking Committee and one of Congress’s most prominent supporters of reforming the structure of the digital asset market, said she wanted to take the next step to advance the bill in the coming days.
Lummis mentioned that the crypto industry was “getting a little concerned” about the bill’s progress. She added that the plans were “changing so much every few days” during bipartisan discussions, which perhaps explains some of the uncertainty over the timeline.
I think what’s interesting here is the disconnect between regulatory progress and pricing expectations. The industry seems to want clarity, but traders don’t necessarily see that clarity translating directly into price gains. Perhaps this is because regulation provides both legitimacy and constraints – it is a double-edged sword.
The market’s reaction, or lack thereof, to regulatory news suggests that investors are also interested in other factors. Things like adoption rates, institutional interest, macroeconomic conditions – may matter more than any piece of legislation, even a major one like this.
Still, clearer rules could make more traditional investors feel comfortable with crypto. That’s probably the long game here. No immediate price increases, but a gradual acceptance that builds over the years.
