SEC Chair Atkins Backs CLARITY Act, Vows Crypto Push Regardless

The CLARITY Act is intended to establish a US market structure for digital assets and clarify how oversight is divided between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Its fate matters to token classification, trading-platform supervision and compliance obligations across the crypto industry. Supporters view legislation as a more durable way to end years of uncertainty over which agency governs different parts of the market.

With the bill’s prospects of passage fading, the SEC and CFTC are moving to develop crypto rules under their existing authorities. Industry experts caution that agency regulations would offer less lasting certainty than an act of Congress because a future administration or reconstituted commission could reverse them, while courts could also narrow or invalidate the measures. The emerging CLARITY-free approach may provide near-term guidance but leave companies exposed to another shift in US policy.

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, or H.R. 3633, is intended to divide oversight of digital assets between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, giving the derivatives regulator a broader role in spot crypto markets. The House passed the bill 294-134 on July 17, 2025, but Senate talks have bogged down over ethics restrictions, stablecoin rewards and protections for decentralized finance. Legislation would provide a more durable framework than agency rules, which could face court challenges or reversal by future administrations.

CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig said on Aug. 20, 2026, that he had directed staff to explore crypto market-structure rules and would order formal proposals if Congress failed to advance CLARITY. The framework could address registered exchanges, leveraged or margined trading on some unregistered platforms, and legal pathways for on-chain financial protocols. Selig said legislation remained the surest route, but the agency would use its existing statutory authority if necessary, as the Senate targets a procedural vote in mid-September after returning from its August recess.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins has championed Regulation Crypto Assets, a proposed framework of tailored exemptions, safe harbors and disclosures for crypto assets sold as part of investment contracts. The initiative is designed to give token issuers a clearer path to raising capital under federal securities law while preserving investor protections. It also matters because Congress has yet to settle how oversight should be divided between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under the CLARITY Act.

The SEC on Aug. 13, 2026, canceled an open meeting scheduled for 10 a.m. ET on Aug. 14, citing an “unforeseen scheduling issue.” The meeting’s sole agenda item was a vote on whether to publish the Regulation Crypto Assets proposal for public comment. The agency set no replacement date. The pullback came after Senate consideration of the CLARITY Act slipped until at least September, leaving both the agency-led offering rules and the broader legislative market-structure framework without a firm timetable.

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is designed to end years of uncertainty by dividing oversight of digital assets between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The House passed its version 294-134 on July 17, 2025. A statute would give crypto issuers, trading platforms and investors a more durable federal framework than agency guidance, particularly on when tokens are securities and when secondary-market activity falls under commodities regulation.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins said in a CNBC interview on July 29, 2026, that the agency was “ready, willing and able” to issue crypto rules under its existing authority if Congress failed to advance CLARITY, while stressing that legislation would offer greater certainty. The Senate on July 27 prioritized nominations and a Russia sanctions bill, leaving CLARITY little floor time before its August 8 recess. Negotiators also remain divided over restrictions on crypto interests involving senior government officials, including President Donald Trump.