CFTC Sends Two Crypto Rulemakings to White House Review After CLARITY Act Collapse
Two days after the Senate blocked its own crypto market-structure bill, the CFTC decided not to wait around. Here’s what it actually filed, and why it matters even without a new law from Congress.
What the CFTC sent to the White House
On September 17, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission submitted two crypto-related rulemakings — titled “Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions” and “Regulation Crypto Asset Markets” — to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review. The filing is logged under reference number RIN 3038-AF80 on the federal government’s public rulemaking tracker, though the substance of the proposals themselves remains confidential while under White House review, as is standard practice at this stage.
Why the CFTC can move without the CLARITY Act
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which failed a Senate cloture vote 49-50 on September 15, would have handed the CFTC clear statutory jurisdiction over most spot crypto trading, alongside the SEC’s authority over crypto securities. Without that law, the CFTC is instead leaning on its existing authority over commodity derivatives and markets to write rules addressing crypto asset transactions directly. CFTC leadership has said publicly for months that the agency intends to move forward “with or without legislation” if Congress continues to stall, and this filing is that promise put into a formal process.
What happens next, and how fast
Sending a rule to OIRA starts a review clock that typically runs up to 90 days, though it can move faster. If the review wraps up within roughly 60 days, industry observers expect the CFTC could publish a proposed rule as early as November or December of this year, opening a public comment period before any final, binding rule takes effect — a process that would likely stretch into 2027.
The bigger picture
Regulators moving on their own, agency by agency, is exactly the patchwork outcome the CLARITY Act was designed to prevent. A CFTC rule and an SEC rule can coexist, but they are not the same as a single federal statute defining which agency has jurisdiction over which tokens — the core ambiguity that has shaped nearly every major U.S. crypto enforcement fight since 2019. For now, this filing is the clearest sign that Washington’s crypto regulators plan to keep building their own frameworks regardless of what happens next in the Senate.
Curious how U.S. agencies like the CFTC and SEC actually divide up crypto oversight? Coin680’s Bitcoin Academy breaks it down in plain language.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Regulatory rulemakings can change substantially between filing and finalization. Always do your own research before making investment decisions.