US Senate Rejects CLARITY Act, SEC and CFTC Plan Aggressive Crypto Rulemaking
The US Senate failed to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on Tuesday, falling short of the 60 votes needed. The bill aimed to create a federal regulatory framework for digital assets.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins and CFTC Chair Mike Selig have vowed to move forward using their existing authority. Atkins said the SEC will 'act decisively within the SEC's statutory authority' while Selig stated that his agency is 'locked in and ready to ship its rules' for the new frontier of finance.
Bernstein analysts expect aggressive and swift rulemaking from both agencies, with proposed regulations including token taxonomy rules, developer protections, and innovation exemptions. The SEC had already taken a step towards this direction on August 19 by proposing new rules for crypto investment contracts, allowing companies to issue up to $5 million in tokens over four years or up to $75 million over 12 months.