Trump pushes the Crypto Market Structure Act: The CLARITY Act is expected to heat up, and Coinbase, Ripple, and Circle’s revaluation path(s) are in focus

A clear signal from the highest levels of power instantly sparked the market’s imagination. U.S. President Trump publicly weighed in, saying, “We are building an unbreakable digital asset market structure.” This tough statement was widely interpreted by the market as a direct endorsement of key crypto legislation such as the “Clear Act.” In response to the news, Coinbase’s stock price at one point jumped by more than 8% in a single day, and market sentiment surged.

This is not a simple policy soundbite. After years of a regulatory gray area and enforcement-driven chaos, a clear statement from the top executive may signal a fundamental shift in the U.S. digital asset regulatory paradigm. It is not only about setting industry rules; it also concerns whether the core business logic of industry giants such as Coinbase, Ripple, and Circle can operate within a lawful, clear framework.

The Regulatory Tide Turns: A Key Juncture from Enforcement-Driven to Legislative Construction

On May 29, 2026, U.S. President Trump said clearly during a public event that his administration is committed to creating an “unbreakable digital asset market structure.” Although he did not directly name specific legislation, given his past positions and the current congressional legislative process, market consensus holds that this remark is the clearest presidential-level support signal for the “Clear Act” to date.

Background and Timeline:

To understand the weight of this statement, it is necessary to trace the evolution of U.S. crypto regulation.

• Chaotic Period (before 2023): Roles and responsibilities in regulation were unclear. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission had differing views on how to characterize crypto assets. The industry mainly relied on “enforcement regulation,” with no clear statutory guidance.
• Legislative Incubation Period (2024-2025): The “21st Century Financial Innovation and Technology Act” won bipartisan support and passed in the House, and the early shape of market-structure legislation began to emerge. At the same time, the “Clear Act” appeared as a key accompanying bill or competitor in the Senate, aiming to more clearly define regulatory boundaries, but it advanced slowly.
• Turning Point (2026): Trump’s statement is the clearest and most forceful stance from the executive branch since the above legislation entered congressional discussion. Fundamentally, it changes the market’s expectations regarding the likelihood of the bill passing.

Markets are collections of information, and their responses provide the most direct assessment. Coinbase’s single-day stock gain of more than 8% clearly shows that capital markets have keenly grasped the far-reaching significance of this signal. Investors are sharply anticipating that a clear legal framework will greatly benefit regulated domestic exchanges and compliant stablecoin issuers—giving them a clearly legal competitive advantage over offshore or gray-area players. This is not merely a sentiment rebound; it directly reflects a reassessment of the value of compliant business going forward.

Consensus and Disagreement: Reassessing the Bill’s Prospects across the Spectrum of Public Opinion

Public opinion surrounding Trump’s remarks currently shows a pattern of “cautious optimism” mixed with deep divisions.

• Mainstream Optimists (based on facts): This camp is mainly made up of Wall Street institutions, crypto industry executives, and compliance advocates. They believe that the president’s clear endorsement will greatly consolidate internal Republican forces and put pressure on some wavering Democratic lawmakers. The logic chain is: a clear legal framework can attract trillions of dollars in institutional capital, solidifying the U.S.’s leadership in next-generation financial infrastructure. For Coinbase, this means clearer compliance paths for trading, custody, staking, and more; for Circle’s USDC, it means its market share as a compliant stablecoin will expand further, squeezing out competitors with unclear regulation.
• Cautious Skeptics (the focus of controversy): This group is also strong, coming mainly from consumer protection organizations, some legal scholars, and radical decentralized technology communities. Their core question is about the definition of “unbreakable” itself. Will the bill, by overly protecting existing institutions, create regulatory barriers that stifle open-source innovation? For Ripple, how the bill defines security tokens versus commodity tokens will directly determine the classification of XRP. If the dividing standards are too strict, XRP may not only fail to benefit, but could instead be drawn into new legal predicaments. This is not unfounded—grounded in reasonable concerns stemming from Ripple’s years-long legal battles with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
• Geopolitical Perspective (viewpoint): Some analysts step away from industry details and point out that this move is a strategic counterattack by the U.S. in the global digital asset race, aimed at other countries or regions’ advantages in regulatory arbitrage. An “unbreakable” structure is intended to signal to global capital that the U.S. is the safest and most predictable home for digital assets.

Industry Impact Analysis

If the legislation is enacted, the industry will undergo a profound structural reshaping.

• Exchange Platform Segment: Competition will shift from “moving fast” to “being compliant to survive.” Licensed exchanges represented by Coinbase will build solid competitive moats. Their business boundaries will expand smoothly from spot trading to staking, derivatives, and institutional-level prime brokerage, completely changing the growth logic.
• Stablecoin Market: Algorithmic stablecoins and offshore stablecoins with unclear regulation will face survival pressure. Circle’s USDC is very likely to be established as the market standard, becoming a new settlement layer connecting traditional finance and the crypto world—its strategic value comparable to the early days of Visa or Mastercard.
• Public Chains and Protocol Layers: Clear regulation is a long-term positive for smart contract platforms such as Ethereum, but in the short term it may face pressure from rising compliance costs. Decentralized finance applications will need to find paths compatible with regulatory frameworks. A “layered compliance” structure may emerge: the underlying protocols remain decentralized, while front-end applications and fiat on/off ramps are highly compliant.

Conclusion

Trump’s remarks are undoubtedly a strong signal capable of changing course. They mark the U.S. crypto regulatory narrative shifting from the question of “whether to regulate” to a construction phase focused on “how to regulate well.” For Coinbase and Circle, this is a historic opportunity to transform their compliance moats into long-term commercial value; for Ripple, it is a new contest that will determine its future fate.

However, we must stay clear-eyed: between political declarations and the rollout of codified rules, complex legislative procedures and competing interests will stand in the way. The market has already cast a vote with very high expectations, but true structural change still needs time to take shape. The only thing we can be certain about is that the “Wild West” era of digital assets is coming to an end. A new cycle governed by clear rules is approaching us at an unprecedented pace. And for every participant within it, their fate will be profoundly reshaped by this process.