Regulators Fill Void Left by Failed Crypto Bill

The crypto industry's Washington strategy has shifted from Congress to federal regulators after the Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act in a procedural vote.

The bill, which aimed to provide market structure clarity for the sector, was met with resistance from Democrats and some Republicans over ethics provisions tied to President Donald Trump's crypto ventures.

However, the collapse of the bill didn't stop rulemaking. Within 48 hours, federal regulatory agencies moved to fill the vacuum themselves.

The SEC introduced a new 'innovation exemption' for digital assets, allowing qualifying venues to trade tokenized U.S. stocks on-chain without registering as national securities exchanges.

The CFTC issued a no-action position letting passive software providers give users access to regulated derivatives without registering as introducing brokers and sent a broader crypto-markets rulemaking to the White House for review.