SEC Threatens Own Crypto Rules as Big Banks Make Major Moves

The SEC has issued an ultimatum to lawmakers, threatening to create its own rules for the crypto market if Congress stalls on the CLARITY Act. The warning comes as major banks like Morgan Stanley and BNY Mellon continue to push into the space.

Morgan Stanley has launched spot Ethereum and Solana exchange-traded products, marking a significant expansion beyond Bitcoin. This move suggests that traditional asset managers are looking to offer clients exposure to programmable blockchain assets beyond just the largest market cap assets.

BNY Mellon is also increasing its involvement in crypto by shifting part of its fund recordkeeping infrastructure on-chain. This mirrors a broader trend of tokenization, with total real-world assets on-chain crossing $20 billion this week.