SEC Unveils New Crypto Rules With CLARITY Act Still Stuck in Congress

A separate conditional safe harbor would allow a crypto asset to fall outside the definition of an investment contract once an issuer has completed or ceased the managerial efforts it promised to investors. The rules would also preempt certain state registration requirements for qualifying offerings and secondary-market transactions.

SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins said the framework is intended to give crypto entrepreneurs "clear pathways to raise capital under the federal securities laws". At the same time, Congress works toward a lasting structure.

The proposal arrived days after the Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act before lawmakers left for the August recess. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has filed cloture on a motion to take up the bill when lawmakers return in mid-September.

The SEC rules do not replace the CLARITY Act, which is intended to define the respective roles of the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission across digital-asset markets. Atkins has argued that legislation is still needed to make any regulatory framework durable beyond the current Commission.

Public comments on Regulation Crypto Assets will remain open for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

For crypto companies, the near-term path to U.S. capital formation may now run through the SEC while Congress continues debating the market framework.