CFTC chair threatens to write crypto rules without Congress

Photo: US Nuclear Regulatory Commission / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

The federal regulator that oversees commodity markets is preparing to write its own crypto rulebook if lawmakers cannot get a bill across the finish line. CFTC Chair Michael S. Selig said Thursday he has directed agency staff to begin exploring crypto market structure rules using the commission’s existing authority. This move could reshape how digital asset exchanges and decentralized finance protocols operate in the United States.

For anyone who does not follow crypto regulation closely: the Clarity Act is a bipartisan bill that would create a federal framework for digital assets and spell out which agency, the CFTC or the Securities and Exchange Commission, oversees what. It has been stuck in Congress. Selig wants the bill to pass. But he made clear that waiting around is no longer the only option.

Selig lays out a Plan B at the CFTC’s new advisory panel

Selig announced the move at the inaugural meeting of the CFTC’s Innovation Advisory Committee, Decrypt reported. He called passing the Clarity Act “the most important step towards future-proofing this industry” but warned the agency would go it alone if needed.