The CFTC Could Move Ahead with CLARITY Act Before Congress

CFTC Chair Michael Selig says the agency will move ahead with its own crypto market rules if the CLARITY Act keeps stalling in the Senate. Legal experts say a CFTC-only framework would leave the industry's core security-versus-commodity question unresolved, and warn any rules it produces could prove far less durable than the legislation it's meant to replace.

As the United States Senate continues to delay its vote on the CLARITY Act, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Michael Selig has stepped up to the challenge.

“If CLARITY continues to stall because of Democratic obstruction, the CFTC will utilize its existing authorities to begin establishing a regime for crypto asset markets. We owe it to the American people to do so,” Selig said on August 19.

The next scheduled vote for the Senate on the CLARITY is September 15. However, the industry has already seen two delays: in January and again in August.

Legal experts note that it is “more likely” the industry will see proposed CFTC rules before CLARITY becomes law. However, the September 15 vote could also change that assessment.

Charles Farrell, a senior managing associate at Dentons specializing in securities, commodities, and digital assets, added that the vote is only “cloture on the motion to proceed.”