In crypto today, Galaxy cut its odds of Clarity Act passage to 10%, Kraken parent Payword reported a 17% rise in second-quarter adjusted earnings despite weak trading volume, and Morgan Stanley disclosed a larger crypto fund position led by increased holdings in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF.
Galaxy CLARITY has reduced the odds of the law to 10%
Galaxy Digital has lowered its estimate of the likelihood of passage of the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act in 2026 to 10%.
It warned that several political issues remained unresolved and that it would take about two to three weeks to pass when the Senate reconvenes on September 14.
Unless the initial proposal advances to a vote as soon as lawmakers return to Washington, the Clarity Act will have enough time to pass the Senate if it “dominates essentially the entire work session.” wrote Galaxy’s head of firmwide research, Alex Thorne, told The X Post on Friday.
Thorne added that lawmakers still need to work through a number of issues, including policy rules to involve government officials in crypto and pressure from banks for stablecoin yield provisions.
Galaxy cut its previous estimate to 50% from 60% on June 26, after cutting it from 75% to 60% on June 6. Its 75% estimate was set on May 22.
The Clarity Act aims to establish the first regulatory framework for digital assets in the United States, but it has drawn criticism. It cleared the Senate Banking Committee in May, but most Democrats and the banking industry pushed back, arguing that it would allow crypto firms to yield on stablecoins without facing the same requirements as banks.
Keyword revenue grew 17% as Kraken parent diversified outside of crypto trading
Non-trading businesses became increasingly important to Kraken parent Payword in the second quarter, helping to boost adjusted revenue 17% year over year to $508 million despite weak trading activity.
Total transaction volume fell 13% to $310 billion, while funded accounts rose 42% to 6.6 million. Payward generated $23 million in adjusted EBITDA.
Asset-based and other businesses generated 60% of the quarter’s revenue, up from 55% a year ago, underscoring the company’s broader revenue mix.
Growth in traditional futures, equities and tokenized equities helped counter soft crypto spot activity. Kraken also increased its share of the spot market for the third consecutive quarter.
Payword’s expansion beyond crypto trading has included stocks, tokenized assets, pre-IPO exposure and futures, acquisitions such as NinjaTrader and Bitnomial, as well as the planned purchase of Magic Labs’ wallet infrastructure business.
Morgan Stanley’s BlackRock Bitcoin ETF holdings rose 23% in Q2
US investment banking giant Morgan Stanley reported larger crypto fund positions in the second quarter, led by a rise of more than 3 million shares in BlackRock’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Morgan Stanley’s reported holdings in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) rose 23% to about 16.5 million shares, from 13.4 million. According to Thursday for its Q2 13F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Morgan Stanley also reported 2.57 million shares of its own Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), valued at about $43.3 million. The product went on sale in April.
The filing shows an increase across several direct crypto fund positions in Q2, even as holdings in Coinbase and some other crypto-linked companies reported declines.
