SEC and CFTC Take Matters into Their Own Hands with New Crypto Rules
The SEC and CFTC have announced they will write crypto rules without Congressional approval. This move comes after the CLARITY Act failed to pass in the Senate with a vote of 50-50, requiring 60 votes to advance.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins and CFTC Chair Michael Selig issued statements within two hours of each other, stating their agencies will create rules for crypto on their own authority. This means that XRP and Bitcoin can expect some regulatory clarity in the near term.
The CFTC already regulates commodities under the Commodity Exchange Act, but has directed staff to draft rules for a purpose-built exchange registration category with rules for leveraged retail crypto trading. This matters specifically for XRP because it would give exchanges a formal path to register XRP spot markets under CFTC oversight.
The SEC's Regulation Crypto Assets framework was unveiled in March, and the agency currently has an offering rule open for public comment until October 20 that would let crypto projects raise money with clearer disclosure requirements. This rule doesn't resolve XRP's history with the SEC on its own, but gives Ripple and similar firms a defined process for future token offerings.