U.S. Tokenized Asset Regulation Sets Global Standard

Caroline D. Pham says the United States is no longer waiting for Congress to catch up with crypto. In a message posted on X, the regulatory figure argued that the country is already setting the global benchmark for U.S. tokenized asset regulation, crediting the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) with doing the heavy lifting while lawmakers remain deadlocked. The claim lands at a moment when both agencies are, in fact, moving fast on their own rulebooks for digital assets, even as a major crypto bill sits stalled on Capitol Hill.

Key takeaways

• Caroline D. Pham stated that the U.S. is setting the global standard for tokenized asset regulation, pointing to the SEC and CFTC as the driving agencies.
• The CFTC issued guidance confirming that regulated firms can invest customer funds in tokenized versions of already-permitted assets and can use blockchain records to meet recordkeeping duties.
• The U.S. Senate blocked the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (H.R. 3633) on September 15 by a 49–50 vote, leaving regulators to act through their existing authority instead.
• The SEC is advancing a proposed Regulation Crypto Assets with registration exemptions of up to $5 million and $75 million, with public hearings running through October 20.
• Bitcoin has been trading in the $84,000–$86,000 range, with XRP and NEAR holding near local highs as markets watch how the new rules unfold.