SEC Ready to Provide Crypto Rules if Clarity Act Flounders: Chair Atkins
SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the agency will write its own crypto market rules if Congress fails to pass the Clarity Act. He argued that only a statute can create durable, future-proof rules, rather than a framework that changes with each administration. The SEC is already preparing an alternative through Project Crypto, including a 2026 rulemaking package on token registration exemptions, a decentralization safe harbor, custody, and trading venues. The Clarity Act would shift most digital commodities oversight to the CFTC and move many tokens outside SEC control, but it has stalled in the Senate. It passed the House and cleared the Senate Banking Committee, yet it has not reached a floor vote, and recent Democratic objections plus scheduling delays make passage before the August recess unlikely. Atkins said the SEC is still supporting Congress, but emphasized that the agency is ready to act if lawmakers do not.
