US Clarity Act unlikely to be ‘world-shaking’ for Bitcoin’s price: Brandt

Veteran trader Peter Brandt just dropped some cold truth: the US Clarity Act might pass in January, but don't expect it to send Bitcoin to the moon. "Is it a world-shaking macro development? Nope. Needed for sure, but not something that should redefine value," he told Cointelegraph on Friday. Translation: regulation ≠ price pump.

This comes after White House crypto and AI czar David Sacks said on Thursday, "We are closer than ever to passing the landmark crypto market structure legislation." He added, "We look forward to finishing the job in January." So the hype is real, but Brandt's keeping it realer.

Brandt isn't the only one with this take. Ledn's chief investment officer, John Glover, told Cointelegraph that the potential passing of the Clarity Act has already "been priced into the market." He said, "I don't expect this event to have a significant impact on the markets on day 1," adding that any benefits to price action are likely to be more delayed.

Glover did note: "It is another step toward broad-based acceptance of Bitcoin and ETH as investable assets, so over time I still expect the price trajectory to be up and to the right over time." So long-term bullish, short-term meh.

Brandt emphasized that the legislation would still be a significant step forward for the wider crypto industry. "The Clarity Act would be positive because it would greatly clarify the regulatory structure for crypto assets," he said. But he also opined that Bitcoin is in a bear market, though said the Clarity Act could mean his "downside bias is moderate."

Here's the spicy part: Brandt thinks Bitcoin could drop hard. "I believe the charts suggest that Bitcoin could trade down to the $60k level, likely in Q3 of 2026," he said. That's a 31% nosedive from Bitcoin's price at publication of $88,000 (according to CoinMarketCap). Ouch.

The bill has been top of mind not only for the crypto industry but also for pro-crypto lawmakers. On Dec. 9, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, a member of the US Senate Banking Committee and one of the most prominent congressional proponents for addressing digital asset market structure, said she wants to take the next step in advancing the bill in the coming days.

The senator said the crypto industry "was getting a little concerned" about the progress of the bill, adding that drafts were "changed so much every few days" during bipartisan discussions. So yeah, it's been a rollercoaster.