CFTC chief tells staff to prepare crypto rules in case the Clarity Act stays stuck

@ChairmanSelig, chairman of the @CFTC, used the agency's Innovation Advisory Committee inaugural meeting on August 20 to put Congress on notice: the crypto industry will get a market structure framework whether or not lawmakers deliver one.

A clear warning to Capitol Hill

Speaking at the committee's first session, Selig said passing the bipartisan Digital Asset Market Clarity Act remains his preferred route. He described bipartisan market structure legislation as the preferred path, but said the CFTC will use its existing authority to establish a regulatory framework for crypto markets if the bill remains stalled. "Rest assured, I will direct CFTC staff to move swiftly to propose these rules," he said, if Congress fails to deliver.

Selig noted that legislation would make any resulting rules harder for a future administration to reverse, underscoring why he sees the Clarity Act as the stronger long-term outcome even as he prepares a regulatory fallback.

What the framework could cover and what comes next

Under the framework outlined by Selig, current CFTC registrants and currently unregistered crypto exchanges could come under CFTC oversight and offer leveraged or margined crypto trading under rules tailored to digital asset markets. On-chain finance is also expected to fall within scope of any proposed rules.

The Clarity Act, formally H.R. 3633, already passed the House in 2025 and would establish the CFTC as the primary federal overseer of spot digital commodity markets. The Senate Banking Committee advanced its version in May 2026, though lawmakers continue to negotiate issues involving ethics rules and stablecoin rewards.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has scheduled a cloture vote on the motion to proceed for September 15, and the measure needs 60 votes to advance through that procedural stage. Selig's statement did not identify which proposals the agency has finished drafting or when it could publish them, and Congress would still need to act before the CFTC could receive the full spot-market authority contemplated by the Clarity Act.

The Clarity Act aims to define jurisdictional boundaries for crypto oversight, and the CFTC and SEC are already coordinating on a framework, with the CFTC focusing on commodity-style assets and derivatives. For industry participants, the message from Washington is increasingly clear: regulatory structure is coming, by one route or another.

Sources:
Decrypt: CFTC Chair Readies Crypto Rules If Congress Fails to Pass Clarity Act
Crypto.news: CFTC Plans Crypto Rules Regardless of CLARITY Act
Crypto Briefing: CFTC's Selig Says Crypto Market Structure Is Coming Whether Congress Acts or Not