The Silicon Valley startup accelerator Y Combinator, an early backer of Airbnb and DoorDash, publicly endorsed the U.S. CLARITY Act on June 11, 2026, predicting that crypto technologies will eventually be integrated into every startup in its portfolio.
The accelerator urged the Senate to swiftly pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 to provide the legal certainty necessary for mainstream business adoption. This move marks a shift in how the tech industry views blockchain, framing it as a fundamental tool for general commerce rather than a niche financial sector.
Y Combinator, which also counts Coinbase and Stripe among its successful graduates, stated that it views blockchain as an “Internet of Assets.” The firm argues that the technology is no longer just for crypto-native or fintech companies.
Instead, they believe stablecoins and distributed ledgers will become standard infrastructure for all future startups, regardless of their industry or customer base. The firm believes this legislative framework will give founders a basis to build products with confidence.
The firm’s outlook rests on the belief that blockchain enables low-cost, instant, and global asset transfers that operate 24/7. By using open APIs, startups can bypass the slow and expensive legacy banking system. This transition is becoming increasingly relevant as the crypto utility window dictates which projects will survive the current market shift.
Y Combinator believes the CLARITY Act is the missing piece of the puzzle that will allow these companies to scale globally without needing traditional banks.
How the CLARITY Act provides a path for every Y Combinator company
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 is a 236-page bipartisan bill designed to create a unified regulatory framework. By defining whether specific digital assets are securities under SEC oversight or commodities under CFTC oversight, the bill aims to clarify the rules for crypto businesses.
Y Combinator maintains that this clarity will encourage founders to build products that rely on instant clearing as a default feature.
The bill includes a specific carve-out known as the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) in Section 604. This provision is intended to protect non-custodial software developers from being classified as money transmitters. For a firm like Y Combinator, which specializes in software startups, this protection ensures that engineers can write code without the regulatory burdens typically reserved for custodial financial institutions.
Under the proposed law, the concept of “blockchain maturity” would allow a network to graduate from SEC oversight to the CFTC. This happens once a network no longer depends on a centralized group and its token demonstrates real utility. Earlier this year, Michael Gillick said the CFTC is ready for such responsibility, which could provide the predictability the American market has lacked for years.
Stablecoins as the primary engine for cross-border startup growth
Stablecoins appear to be the most immediate point of impact for the accelerator’s portfolio. Y Combinator highlighted several real-world use cases, including instant global payroll settlement and cross-border collections for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) businesses. These tools allow a small startup to operate in over 150 countries without the friction of multiple complex banking relationships.
The latest draft of the CLARITY Act prohibits rewards on passive stablecoin holdings that are “economically or functionally equivalent” to deposit interest. However, the legislation still allows rewards tied to trading or transactions. This distinction ensures stablecoins function primarily as payment tools while still rewarding active participation in the digital economy.
This aligns with the New Clarity Act rules that aim to establish a federal regime for payment stablecoin issuers.
Startups often struggle with the slow settlement cycles of the current market, which can tie up capital for days. Blockchain-based clearing allows for settlement in seconds, a feature Y Combinator believes every marketplace and exchange will eventually adopt. This efficiency could give small startups a competitive edge over established legacy players who are often slower to transition their technical stacks.
Legislative hurdles and the road to Senate approval
While the CLARITY Act represents a significant step forward, it is not yet law. A full Senate vote requiring 60+ votes is a major hurdle that remains. Following this, the bill would require reconciliation with the House version passed in July 2025 and a presidential signature. Even then, a formal rulemaking process would follow to implement the finer details of the 236-page document.
The bill passed the Senate Banking Committee on May 14 with bipartisan support, by a vote of 15 to 9. Senator Cynthia Lummis, a pro-crypto lawmaker, reaffirmed her determination to pass the legislation after it cleared the committee stage. Tech leaders are now watching closely to see if the political will exists to move the bill through the final stages of the legislative process.
Under the bill, crypto dealers and brokers must also segregate customer funds and disclose any conflicts of interest. These protections are intended to prevent the systemic failures seen in previous cycles. Orest Gavryliak, the chief legal officer at 1inch, noted that these rules provide a solid foundation for consumer protection, making the industry safer for institutional and retail participants alike.
Impact on decentralized finance and software development
The CLARITY Act aims to protect the core ethos of decentralized finance (DeFi) by including a carve-out for non-custodial software. This would ideally exempt UI providers and blockchain developers from being treated as regulated money transmitters. Y Combinator believes this distinction is what will allow the “Internet of Assets” to flourish without stifling the creativity of individual engineers.
The ultimate goal for Y Combinator is a world where founders don’t have to ask for permission to innovate with money. They believe that with the CLARITY Act in place, the underlying technology of blockchain will become invisible, much like HTTP or TCP/IP.
It will simply be the plumbing that allows every new company to move value across the globe as easily as they move data.
Other legislative efforts, such as the GENIUS Act signed in 2025, have already started setting the stage for payment stablecoin issuers. The combination of these bills creates a multi-layered framework that captures everything from 1:1 reserves to consumer bankruptcy protections. For the startup world, this means the focus can finally shift from legal survival back to building products and scaling operations.