CFTC Sends Crypto Market Rules to White House After CLARITY Act Stalls

The submission followed by two days a Senate vote of 49-50 against advancing the CLARITY Act, a bill designed to set up a federal regulatory framework for digital assets. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig indicated after that vote that the agency intended to move forward on crypto market rules using its existing statutory authority. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins likewise said the securities regulator would proceed with or without legislation, per BitKE.

BitKE reported that in August 2026 Selig said the CFTC was examining rules that could let existing registrants and currently unregistered crypto exchanges operate as a new category of designated contract market, a "crypto asset market," where leveraged or margined crypto trading could occur.

CoinDesk noted that the SEC is separately opening a path for tokenized stock trading. Decrypt reported that the prerule signals the CFTC will build a derivatives framework on its own authority following the collapse of the CLARITY Act.

The European Central Bank has introduced Pontes, a settlement system linking its payment infrastructure to blockchain-based markets, with full implementation targeted for 2028.