SEC and CFTC Chairmen Say They Will Write Crypto Rules Without CLARITY Act

The heads of the two main U.S. markets regulators said Wednesday they will press ahead with crypto rulemaking using their agencies’ existing statutory authorities after the Senate failed to take up the CLARITY Act. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins issued near-simultaneous posts on X reiterating that their agencies will act to provide regulatory structure for crypto markets despite the legislative setback.

Selig’s post said the CFTC is "locked in and ready to ship its rules for the new frontier of finance," and pledged the agency would help deliver a "future-proof crypto asset regulatory market structure" using current authorities. Atkins wrote that the SEC will "act decisively within the SEC's statutory authority to deliver certainty for American investors," adding that the agency has proposals already in motion and that stakeholders should "stay tuned."

The agencies are at different stages of formal rulemaking. The SEC has a proposed Regulation on crypto asset offerings published in the Federal Register with the comment period open until Oct. 20 and has identified two other initiatives — proposed transfer agent rules and a custody proposal to allow certain advisers to self-custody crypto assets and use state trust companies as custodians. The CFTC has instructed staff this year to explore market-structure rules, including designating certain trading venues as a crypto asset market and enabling leveraged or margined trading, but has not yet published a market-structure rule in the Federal Register.

Both chairs had foreshadowed this path before the Senate vote. Selig told the CFTC’s Innovation Advisory Committee on Aug. 20 that he would direct staff to move on rule proposals if the CLARITY Act stalled, and Atkins used similar language at the Solana Policy Institute summit on Sept. 14. The agencies’ prior crypto work this year includes CFTC FAQs and no-action positions in March and staff guidance on certain perpetuals in May, while the SEC’s open offering rule and other proposals remain in the formal notice-and-comment pipeline. Any rules the agencies finalize will still be subject to notice-and-comment requirements and could be rescinded later through the same administrative process, whereas repealing a statute would require new congressional action.