After Clarity Act Stalls, SEC and CFTC Say They’ll Write Crypto Rules on Their Own

SEC Chair Paul Atkins and CFTC Chair Michael Selig said Wednesday they will act under existing authority after the Clarity Act stalled. JPMorgan analysts noted agency rules can be repealed by later administrations or challenged in court.

Paul S. Atkins, the 34th Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission

Posted September 16, 2026 at 7:55 pm EST.

The chairs of the SEC and the CFTC pledged Wednesday to regulate crypto using the authority their agencies have now, one day after the Clarity Act stalled in a Senate procedural vote. JPMorgan analysts said the same day that rules written that way are easier to undo than a statute.

“Americans deserve regulatory clarity, legal certainty, and consumer protections in crypto asset markets,” Michael Selig, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said in a statement he shared on X Wednesday morning. “The CFTC is locked in and ready to ship its rules for the new frontier of finance.”

Paul Atkins, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, added about an hour and a half later: “I have been unequivocal: with or without legislation, we will act decisively within the SEC’s statutory authority to deliver certainty for American investors and for the entrepreneurs shaping our technological future.”