Crypto Industry Points to SEC and CFTC After CLARITY Setback

The crypto industry responded to the Senate blocking its market structure bill by arguing that the rules are coming anyway, and that the SEC and the CFTC will write them.

The argument running through the statements issued since Tuesday's vote is that the agencies keep writing crypto rules either way, and what the Senate withheld is the version a future chair cannot undo. Repealing a statute takes another act of Congress. Rewriting an agency rule takes a new commissioner.

The Senate rejected cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3633 by 49-50 on Tuesday afternoon, 11 votes short of the 60 required. Susan Collins, Josh Hawley, Jerry Moran and Thom Tillis were the four Republicans voting no. No Democrat or independent voted to proceed, and Chris Coons did not vote. The Defiant reported the result Tuesday.

"This is not the end of our work to provide long-overdue consumer protection provisions and regulatory clarity for America's digital asset users and entrepreneurs," Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger said in a statement. The group will "work tirelessly to support and share expertise with the SEC and CFTC as they move forward with important regulatory guidance," she said.

Crypto Council for Innovation CEO Ji Hun Kim called the vote "disappointing" and said CCI "will continue working with regulatory agencies, including the SEC, CFTC, OCC, and others to ensure that there are clear rules, innovators can build domestically, and consumers are protected."