America’s strength is more than our military power. It depends on economic leadership, energy security, strong law enforcement, and the ability to cut off hostile regimes from exploiting our systems to undermine our country.
That is why Congress should reject the CLARITY Act in its current form.
By creating broad exemptions and carve-outs for crypto special interests, the legislation would interfere with law enforcement and national security officials’ ability to identify who is moving money, where it is going, and whether it is tied to sanctioned actors. Without strong Know-Your- Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money-Laundering (AML) standards, bad actors in Iran and North Korea can use crypto to fund terrorism, launder money for criminal activity, and undermine our critical defense tools.
The danger is not theoretical.
North Korea stole more than $2 billion in crypto assets in 2025, most of which was used to fund their weapons program. And Iran has a history of using crypto to evade sanctions, fund terrorist proxies, and move money outside the reach of U.S. authorities. In June, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Nobitex, Iran’s largest digital asset exchange, saying it facilitated payments tied to these activities, including transactions for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Now, Iranian bad actors are extorting tolls from commercial vessels seeking passage through the Strait of Hormuz and demanding that payments be made exclusively in crypto.
Congress cannot respond to these threats by weakening the financial tools America uses to track and stop illicit finance.
Drug cartels, human traffickers, ransomware groups, sanctioned regimes, and terrorist financiers are always looking for weakness in the financial system. Any digital asset framework must strengthen America’s ability to trace illicit funds, enforce sanctions, recover stolen money, and hold bad actors accountable.
America has the potential to lead the world in digital assets but only if we protect what made our markets strong in the first place: trust, transparency, accountability, and national security. Without proper safeguards, foreign adversaries––including cartels, terrorists in Iran, and criminals in North Korea—will continue to target our country’s global standing and scam and defraud the everyday investors who uphold our markets. If these investors lose trust in the financial system, we risk forfeiting digital asset innovation to our adversaries.
A strong market structure bill would promote innovation while preserving the tools needed to stop criminal activity, protect investors, and defend U.S. interests, which is why Congress must reject the CLARITY Act.
Lawmakers have a responsibility to get this right and protect the integrity of our markets, defend our national security, and ensure digital asset innovation is built on trust.
About the author: Trevor Dorsey is the Sr VP Prosperity Bank. He is a regular contributor on Tulsa Today including the recent articles; Oklahoma Protecting Free Markets May 27, 2026 and Policy Noise Obstructs Stewardship September 24, 2025.