A new non-profit called Crypto Watchdog launched on June 23, positioning itself as a consumer advocacy organization focused squarely on the risks lurking in the cryptocurrency industry.

The timing is not accidental. The group arrives during one of the most consequential periods for US crypto regulation, with the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act working its way through the Senate and a floor debate expected as soon as July.

What Crypto Watchdog actually wants

Executive Director Chapin Fay framed the organization’s mission around transparency. The group plans to spotlight consumer risks including scams, insider advantages that benefit well-connected players at the expense of retail investors, and national security issues like sanctions evasion.

Fay was careful to position the organization as something other than a crypto antagonist. He described Crypto Watchdog as “not anti-crypto” but rather “pro-innovation,” with a focus on accountability that protects the people who tend to get hurt most: retail participants.

The organization’s advisory board offers a hint at its approach. Mitch Silber, a former director of intelligence analysis at the NYC Police Department, brings a law enforcement and national security lens. Jack St. Martin, the chief of staff for the Nevada Republican Assembly Caucus, adds a political dimension that could prove useful as crypto regulation becomes an increasingly bipartisan conversation.

The legislative backdrop

The GENIUS Act, signed into law on July 18, 2025, established the first comprehensive federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. That legislation requires stablecoin issuers to maintain 100% reserve backing in highly liquid assets like US dollars or short-term Treasury securities.

Now the Clarity Act is moving through the Senate, with negotiations ongoing and a potential floor debate penciled in for July. That bill aims to bring broader regulatory clarity to digital assets, addressing questions about which tokens qualify as securities, which are commodities, and how the patchwork of federal agencies should divide oversight responsibilities.

The stablecoin market alone illustrates why this matters. Before the GENIUS Act’s reserve requirements, the industry had already weathered the collapse of TerraUSD in 2022, which wiped out tens of billions in value because the stablecoin’s backing mechanism was, to put it diplomatically, ambitious fiction.