Overview
- Senate records set a cloture vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act for Sept. 15 and the motion needs 60 votes to open full Senate debate rather than to pass the bill.
- The Securities and Exchange Commission published its 401-page Regulation Crypto Assets proposal on Aug. 18, which creates startup and fundraising exemptions and a conditional safe harbor for sufficiently decentralized projects.
- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission convened an Innovation Advisory Committee on Aug. 20 and has instructed staff to draft fallback rules, signaling the CFTC will prepare independent regulatory steps if Congress stalls.
- Industry leaders and White House advisers have pressed senators to pass the CLARITY Act while warning that regulators could act quickly if lawmakers do not deliver a statutory solution.
- Regulatory and legal uncertainty will likely remain either way because agency rules can be changed or challenged in court and recent litigation, including Ripple’s $125.04 million penalty and injunction, shows courts do not create a durable market structure.