# The SEC and CFTC Are Writing Their Own Crypto Rules After the Clarity Act Stalls > With the Clarity Act stalled in the Senate, the SEC and CFTC are rushing to implement federal crypto regulations while state attorneys general fight for local control. - Canonical URL: https://coreiten.com/en/article/the-sec-and-cftc-are-writing-their-own-crypto-rules-after-the-clarity-act-stalls - Language: en - Section: Crypto - Author: Sami - Published: 2026-09-23T04:03:30+03:00 - Modified: 2026-09-23T04:03:30+03:00 - Publisher: CoreITen (https://coreiten.com) - Keywords: Clarity Act, SEC, CFTC, tokenized stocks, digital assets, Project Crypto, Coinbase ## Summary Because the Clarity Act stalled in the Senate on September 15, the SEC and CFTC are aggressively forging their own digital asset rules. - The SEC issued an order on September 15 creating a temporary pathway for trading tokenized stocks to enable 24/7 financial markets. - The CFTC submitted a confidential crypto rulemaking proposal to the White House on the same day, which is pending review by the Office of Management and Budget. - Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated that the crypto industry cannot wait on Congress and the Senate following the failed procedural vote. - A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general sent a September 14 letter to Senator Scott and Senator Elizabeth Warren urging opposition to the Clarity Act to preserve state police powers. - Senator Thom Tillis revised his vote to oppose the bill as a procedural maneuver enabling him to bring a motion to reconsider the legislation later. **Why it matters:** This regulatory shift highlights a turf war between federal agencies and state authorities that risks fragmenting the U.S. crypto market. --- With the comprehensive Clarity Act stalled in the Senate, federal regulators are aggressively expanding their oversight of the digital asset market. Just two days after the crypto market structure bill failed a procedural vote on September 15, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) initiated new rulemaking procedures under their existing statutory authorities. The SEC immediately expanded its crypto rulebook by issuing an order that creates a temporary pathway for trading tokenized stocks. This regulatory shift is designed to inch traditional financial markets closer to 24/7 trading capabilities. On the same day, the CFTC submitted a confidential crypto rulemaking proposal to the White House, which the Office of Management and Budget confirmed is currently pending review. The cryptocurrency industry, which heavily backed the Clarity Act, is growing impatient with legislative delays. "At this point, I don't think we can wait on Congress and the Senate," Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated following the failed vote. Senate banking committee Chairman Tim Scott also urged federal agencies to establish clear rules of the road for digital assets until Congress can pass formal legislation. > President Trump promised to deliver a future-proof crypto asset regulatory market structure one way or the other, and we will help him get the job done using our existing statutory authorities. > > - Michael Selig, Chair, CFTC The CFTC pointed to Chair Michael Selig's September 16 [statement](https://x.com/ChairmanSelig/status/2100232064259735589?s=20) on social media as its guiding directive. Meanwhile, an SEC spokesperson confirmed the agency will consider a proposal to modernize custody rules for investment adviser and fund assets, specifically addressing crypto assets. According to Caroline Pham, CEO of MoonPay Institutional and former acting CFTC chair, a backup plan to move forward at the agency level was always in the cards. She noted that this contingency includes the "Project Crypto" initiative introduced in July 2025 to align SEC and CFTC rules, as well as the CFTC's August 2025 move to implement recommendations from the President's Working Group on Digital Asset Markets. ### State vs. Federal Control As federal agencies accelerate their efforts, state governments are fighting to maintain their regulatory authority. In a September 14 letter to Senator Scott and Senator Elizabeth Warren, a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general urged the Senate Banking Committee to oppose the Clarity Act. The coalition argued that the bill would strip states of their police powers and their ability to protect citizens from predatory scammers. Aaron Klein, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, countered that capital market regulation must be handled at the federal level, while states should focus on monitoring payment processing and prosecuting fraud. Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association, echoed this sentiment, warning that relying on state-level enforcement only addresses crimes after they have already occurred. Despite the current legislative gridlock, the Clarity Act is not entirely dead. Senator Thom Tillis revised his vote to oppose the bill, a procedural maneuver that allows him to bring a motion to reconsider the legislation in the Senate at a later date. ### The Fragmentation Risk for Digital Assets The aggressive push by state attorneys general to retain regulatory control highlights a critical vulnerability for the U.S. crypto market: regulatory fragmentation. If the Clarity Act fails permanently and federal agencies cannot establish a unified framework, digital asset companies will be forced to navigate a patchwork of 50 different state laws. This directly contradicts the borderless, decentralized nature of blockchain technology and creates massive compliance overhead for startups. Furthermore, the SEC's move to allow tokenized stocks signals that traditional finance is ready to adopt blockchain infrastructure for 24/7 trading. However, traditional institutions require absolute legal certainty before committing billions in capital. A fragmented regulatory environment where state and federal agencies are locked in a turf war will likely bottleneck this integration, pushing institutional crypto innovation to more clearly regulated markets overseas. ## Sources - [cnbc.com](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/22/clarity-act-crypto-rules-regulators.html) ## Related topics - [CLARITY Act](https://coreiten.com/en/topic/clarity-act) - [digital assets](https://coreiten.com/en/topic/digital-assets) - [Coinbase](https://coreiten.com/en/topic/coinbase)