US Crypto Reform Stalls as SEC and CFTC Move to Shape Digital Asset Rules

With Congress moving slowly, regulators are preparing rules that could reshape the crypto market now—yet leave businesses exposed to another political reversal.

In the United States, progress on a sweeping cryptocurrency bill has stalled, meaning that President Donald Trump’s federal regulators may take on a key role in shaping rules for digital assets. At the same time, decisions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) may prove temporary: future administrations could revise or repeal them.

Crypto companies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars over several years supporting legislative initiatives. The industry hoped to secure clear and stable legal conditions for operating, but Congress has increasingly little time to agree on a comprehensive bill before the new session begins next year.

Because of the delay in Congress, pressure is mounting on the SEC and CFTC. These agencies could provide the crypto market with the rules it has long demanded, including rules on the status of tokens, exchange trading, and derivatives.

The SEC is also working on a rule that could exempt certain token offerings from securities law requirements. The agency is expected to advance this initiative in the coming weeks. The CFTC, for its part, plans to discuss cryptocurrency regulation at an industry event this week.