SEC cancels long-awaited proposal of Reg Crypto, postponing meeting without new date

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was on the verge of revealing its first major rulemaking effort in the digital assets sphere, having been set to propose its "Regulation Crypto," but the agency cancelled the Friday meeting in an end-of-day statement on Thursday.

"Due to an unforeseen scheduling issue," the SEC is moving the meeting to "a later date," according to a statement from an agency spokesperson.

In the absence of progress in the Senate's Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, the legislation that would establish a legal foundation for crypto market activity in the U.S., the industry had looked to the SEC to pick up the baton. The so-called Reg Crypto is expected to open a limited framework for issuing crypto securities without triggering agency registration requirements, and also to be able to later transition out of management of the project and, as a result, out of the SEC's regulatory radar.

The sector will instead have to sit back again and see which branch of the government delivers first: SEC or Congress.