U.S. regulators are prepared to advance cryptocurrency market-structure rules even if Congress fails to pass the CLARITY Act, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig, signaling that Washington’s regulatory overhaul is no longer entirely dependent on legislation. Speaking Thursday, August 20, at the inaugural meeting of the CFTC’s Innovation Advisory Committee in Washington, Selig said the agency is already examining regulatory proposals that could provide a framework for digital-asset markets under its existing authority.
“I remain hopeful that Congress will deliver to the President’s desk bipartisan crypto asset market structure legislation,” Selig said. “While we have other tools in the box if the bill doesn’t pass,” he added, congressional legislation remains the most important step toward “future-proofing” the industry. The comments follow President Donald Trump’s August 19 White House meeting with crypto executives and regulators, where he urged lawmakers to advance the stalled CLARITY Act. Selig’s remarks indicate that failure in Congress would slow, but not stop, the administration’s broader effort to establish clearer federal rules for cryptocurrency markets.
CFTC Could Build Framework Under Existing Authority
The CLARITY Act would provide something regulators cannot fully accomplish independently: legislation defining the jurisdictional boundary between the SEC and CFTC while establishing statutory principles for digital-asset spot markets. Selig said Congress should codify a framework distinguishing securities transactions from transactions involving digital commodities and provide the CFTC with clear authority over crypto spot markets. Without legislation, however, the CFTC could use existing Commodity Exchange Act authorities, exemptions, interpretive guidance and rulemaking to address portions of the market.
The agency has already begun doing so. The CFTC’s broader Crypto Sprint has addressed listed spot crypto trading, tokenized collateral, stablecoins and blockchain-based market infrastructure. The agency is also working jointly with the SEC through Project Crypto, an initiative designed to harmonize federal oversight and reduce uncertainty around whether particular crypto assets or transactions fall under securities regulation. Meanwhile, the SEC is independently advancing its own rulemaking. On August 18, the Commission proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, a substantial framework establishing tailored exemptions and requirements for crypto offerings and transactions. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said the Commission would continue supporting congressional passage of the CLARITY Act while simultaneously using its existing authority to develop “fit-for-purpose” rules for crypto markets.
CLARITY Would Still Provide Stronger Legal Foundation
The agencies’ willingness to proceed independently reduces the extent to which U.S. crypto policy depends on the outcome of one bill, but administrative rulemaking cannot completely substitute for congressional action. Agency regulations remain constrained by existing statutes and can face litigation over whether regulators exceeded authority granted by Congress. Rules can also be revised by future administrations more easily than legislation. The CLARITY Act would provide a more durable statutory framework, particularly by explicitly assigning responsibilities between the SEC and CFTC and establishing federal oversight of digital-commodity spot markets.
Political obstacles nevertheless remain. Senate consideration has been delayed amid disagreements over ethics provisions, stablecoin rewards and the division of regulatory authority. President Trump urged Congress on Wednesday to take the “next step” and pass the legislation. Selig’s comments therefore establish two parallel routes for U.S. crypto regulation. Congress can provide the broader and more durable framework through legislation, while the SEC and CFTC continue using existing powers to address token classifications, trading platforms, perpetual derivatives, tokenized assets and other market infrastructure. For crypto companies, that means regulatory change is likely even if the CLARITY Act stalls. The larger question is whether those rules ultimately rest on new congressional authority or on interpretations of laws written decades before digital assets existed.