Washington’s Crypto Bill Just Got More Complicated
The SEC and CFTC are moving on crypto rules while Congress debates CLARITY, creating new leverage problems around ethics, durability, and agency authority.
President Trump hosted a meeting on August 19 with crypto and traditional finance executives, urging Congress to pass a bill he described as fair. Subsequently, the SEC proposed Regulation Crypto Assets on August 18, creating registration exemptions and a conditional safe harbor. The CFTC Chairman warned that if the bill stalled, the CFTC would use its existing authorities to create a crypto asset market regime.
Both chairmen emphasized that legislation was preferable to rulemaking. The CLARITY Act requires 60 votes, but Democrats are unlikely to provide them due to the industry's willingness to pay for ethics language. The agencies' rulemaking efforts provide partial benefits without the political costs associated with the bill. This makes the statute less appealing to the group lobbying hardest for it, reducing their willingness to accept enforcement language aimed at the president's holdings.
The durability argument is valid, but gaps exist in Regulation Crypto Assets and the CFTC's existing authorities.
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