CFTC Prepares Crypto Rules as Clarity Act Stalls

The regulator does not want to wait on the Senate and is already working on its own framework for crypto asset markets. That should provide clarity for protocols and companies, even if the Clarity Act falls apart.

Key Takeaways

• The U.S. CFTC is preparing its own crypto regulatory framework if the Clarity Act stalls in the Senate.
• Chair Mike Selig wants to use existing authority to let crypto asset markets and protocols operate legally.
• The Senate still has three weeks to pass the Clarity Act with 60 votes; the House already approved the bill.

The U.S. CFTC is already setting up an alternative path for crypto rules if the Clarity Act stalls in the Senate. Chair Mike Selig said Thursday that his regulator could then use its existing authority to build a framework for crypto asset markets on its own.

CFTC Does Not Want to Wait

Selig told the Innovation Advisory Committee that he has instructed his staff to work on a regulatory label for crypto asset markets, similar to the existing category for designated contract markets. He said this would let the CFTC move quickly if Congress does not deliver a new law.

He also took a notably strong political tone for a sitting regulator. According to Selig, if the Clarity Act keeps getting blocked by Democratic opposition, the CFTC should use its existing authority to still set up a regime for crypto asset markets.

Selig also tied that to developers. He said his staff should explore rules that would allow protocols to be offered in the United States in a legal and compliant way.

Pressure on the Senate Is Growing

The Clarity Act is still in the Senate, where the odds of success have reportedly gotten smaller as the weeks go by. The Senate still has one final three-week window to get the bill through with the required 60 votes.

One major open question is whether the White House will agree to a revised ethics provision proposed by Senators Ruben Gallego and Thom Tillis. According to Selig, passing the Clarity Act is still the best way to lock in a future-proof market structure for crypto.

That bill has already taken a long route. The House of Representatives approved the proposal on July 17, 2025, by a vote of 294 to 134, after which it moved to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

What This Means for Crypto in the U.S.

For European crypto readers, the main takeaway is that the U.S. now seems to be moving on two tracks at once: legislation through Congress and its own rules through regulators. That could matter for crypto companies that want to stay active in the U.S. market or scale back up there.

At the same event, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse pointed to the earlier legal pressure under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler. He said that forced his company to grow outside the U.S., and that clearer rules are needed to use that technology responsibly.

The political deadlock around the Clarity Act is not new. In an earlier stage, CLARITY Act Stalls in Senate Over Trump Ethics already warned that the ethics clause was one of the biggest sticking points in the Senate.