CLARITY Act Could Put Circle And Hyperliquid Ahead

Former Barclays CEO Bob Diamond has named Circle and Hyperliquid as the companies best positioned to benefit if the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act becomes law, putting the odds of that happening by the end of 2026 at somewhere between 50% and 75%.

Diamond, who serves as CEO of Atlas Merchant Capital and chairman of Hyperliquid Strategies, made the remarks on CNBC's Squawk Box on July 31, 2026. Those dual roles give him a direct stake in how the legislation ultimately takes shape.

Why Circle and Hyperliquid Stand Out

Circle issues $USDC, the dollar-pegged stablecoin that has become a core piece of digital payments infrastructure. Hyperliquid recently adopted USDC as its canonical stablecoin, replacing its former native USDH. As part of that arrangement, Circle staked 500,000 HYPE tokens on the Hyperliquid network, tightening the operational link between the two firms.

Diamond's argument is that clearer federal rules around stablecoins would strengthen the infrastructure layer that both companies occupy. His mention of Hyperliquid alongside Circle on a mainstream financial television platform is notable because the decentralised exchange has largely been a crypto-native story until now, well known inside the ecosystem but largely invisible outside it. Having a former Barclays CEO name-check it on CNBC changes the audience paying attention.

Diamond also pushed back on banking industry opposition to the bill, arguing it is "really good for the banks over time." He noted that firms such as JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley are already investing heavily in crypto and blockchain infrastructure, and that legal certainty would only accelerate that trend.

Where the Bill Stands

The CLARITY Act passed the House in July 2025 with a 294-134 bipartisan vote. The Senate Banking Committee advanced the bill by a vote of 15 to 9 on May 14, 2026. To become law, the bill must still be reconciled with the Senate Agriculture Committee's version, pass a 60-vote Senate floor vote, be reconciled with the House-passed version, and be signed by the President.

Two sticking points remain in Senate negotiations: ethics provisions, a politically sensitive topic given broader conversations about lawmakers' personal financial interests in crypto, and stablecoin yield language, specifically how the law should treat the interest or returns generated by stablecoins.

Sources:
CNBC Squawk Box: Bob Diamond on the CLARITY Act
Latham and Watkins: US Crypto Policy Tracker
Crypto Briefing: Circle and Hyperliquid identified as CLARITY Act infrastructure winners