Former CFTC Chair Says Crypto Regulation Will Advance Despite Senate Setback

The collapse of the CLARITY Act in the Senate will not derail efforts to build a workable regulatory framework for digital assets, according to a former top derivatives regulator who said the two main federal agencies remain committed to the task.

Speaking with Eleanor Terrett, host of Crypto in America, on Sept. 15, Christopher Giancarlo, the former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, acknowledged disappointment that the legislation failed to clear a procedural hurdle but argued the setback would not halt what he called the "march of innovation" in the United States.

The former CFTC chief pointed to the current leadership at both agencies as evidence that rulemaking will continue even without congressional action. Paul Atkins at the Securities and Exchange Commission and Michael Selig at the CFTC "are determined to carry out the missions given to them and put in place a sound regulatory framework," Giancarlo said.

Such a framework, he added, would ensure that "financial innovation, market modernization and economic growth occur within, not outside, the bounds of U.S. law."

The Senate voted 50-50 on a cloture motion Tuesday, falling ten votes short of the 60 needed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act to floor debate. With fewer than 36 legislative days remaining before a new Congress is sworn in after November's midterm elections, the bill is unlikely to see further action this year.