For at least eight years, Congress has been trying and (mostly) failing to create a special set of rules for digital assets and the markets they trade on. It’s worth asking how much, if any, of that was advisable.

The latest effort, the 635-page Clarity Act, collapsed this month over an attempt to limit conflicts of interest among federal officials. The bill’s failure was a blow to the industry, which had lobbied and donated to legislators in hopes of winning a new legal framework for blockchain-based tokens and business models.

Why did crypto entrepreneurs care so much? After all, even without a consistent framework – and despite the industry’s reputation for hacking, fraud and other unsavory conduct – the…