SEC chair says he anticipates and hopes the Senate advances the CLARITY Act

Atkins Backs Senate Action on Crypto Market Structure Bill

SEC Chair @SECPaulSAtkins told Fox Business on Wednesday that he anticipates and hopes the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act will clear the Senate and reach President Trump's desk. The comments come as senators prepare for a critical procedural vote on September 15, when the chamber will decide whether to advance the bill to a full floor debate.

That vote is a cloture motion on the motion to proceed, a step that requires 60 votes to overcome a filibuster and allow the Senate to formally begin debating the bill. The Senate delayed a floor vote ahead of the August 2026 recess due to partisan disagreements over ethics rules and banking opposition, before Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed the cloture motion to keep the bill alive for September.

With the full House and about one-third of Senate seats on the ballot in November, election-season pressures are expected to consume lawmakers' attention and squeeze the floor time needed to iron out the bill's unresolved sticking points. Restrictions on officials with crypto-related business interests, anti-money laundering provisions, limitations on decentralized finance, and restrictions on rewards or yields on stablecoins all have the potential to derail the bill.

SEC Moves Ahead With Its Own Crypto Framework

Atkins said the SEC's own crypto proposal was designed to work in parallel with the legislation, not replace it. On August 18, 2026, the Commission proposed "Regulation Crypto Assets," a new framework that would create tailored exemptions from Securities Act registration for certain offerings involving crypto assets. The SEC opened the process for 60 days of public comments, after which it can work on the final rule in the coming months.

Still, Atkins was clear that agency action alone is not sufficient. As he stated when the proposal was released, "Legislation remains indispensable to enacting 'future-proofed' rules of the road that are durable enough to protect the work we are undertaking today from being unwound by a future rogue regulator." He added that the SEC could act under existing securities law if Congress does not pass the bill, but called statutory grounding necessary for a lasting framework.

The industry is preparing to move forward without the bill, though executives and investors say durable legislation would lend certainty and help attract long-term capital. For now, the September 15 vote will serve as a first indicator of whether a landmark crypto law can still cross the finish line in 2026.

Sources:
CNBC: Crypto enters September with legislative policy gamble hanging by a thread
Latham and Watkins: US Crypto Policy Tracker
Reed Smith: SEC Proposes New Crypto Offering Framework