SEC and CFTC Take Initiative After Senate Rejects Crypto Bill
The U.S. Senate's failure to pass the CLARITY Act on Tuesday has prompted the SEC and CFTC to announce that they will move forward with writing their own rules for the crypto industry.
CFTC Chairman Michael Selig stated that the agency is 'locked in and ready to ship its rules' using existing statutory authorities, while SEC Chairman Paul Atkins reiterated his commitment to delivering certainty for investors and entrepreneurs through decisive action within the SEC's authority.
The CLARITY Act, which aimed to provide a bipartisan framework for crypto regulation, was rejected by the Senate with 11 votes short of the required 60. Selig had previously warned that if the bill stalled, he would direct CFTC staff to propose new rules.
The SEC has already filed its Regulation Crypto Assets proposal, which includes two exemptions from Securities Act registration and is currently accepting comments until October 20th. The CFTC has also sent 18 proposed rules to the Federal Register since January, although none of them specifically address crypto market structure.