Quiet · latest Thu 17 Sep 2026
The US market-structure fight: who regulates crypto
4 developmentssince 22 Jul 20266 outlets covered this story · 14 articlesevery development checked by a person
The story so far · 4 developments since 22 Jul 2026
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act would set out how US digital assets are overseen. Through July 2026 Senate negotiators circulated working drafts, including an ethics provision barring the president, members of Congress and federal judges from being paid to issue or sponsor digital assets. On 15 September 2026 the Senate voted 49 to 50 on cloture, short of the 60 votes needed. The SEC and CFTC chairs then said they would write crypto rules under existing authority, and the CFTC sent its crypto rulemaking to the White House for review.
Timeline at a glance
22 Jul 202612 Nov 2026
The full timeline
How we got here: each step is a development; the space between them shows the time between.
- 17 Sep 2026
The CFTC sends its crypto market rulemaking to the White House for review · 4 articles
On Thursday 17 September 2026, two days after the Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act, the CFTC filed a crypto rulemaking titled Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets with the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which reviews federal rules before publication; Cointelegraph reported the filing lists it at the prerule stage. The CFTC also issued a no-action position for passive software providers, which The Block, Cointelegraph and Unchained dated to Thursday and CoinDesk to Friday.
- 16 Sep 2026
The SEC and CFTC chairs say they will write crypto rules without the Clarity Act · 2 articles
On Wednesday 16 September 2026, the day after the Senate cloture vote failed, CFTC Chairman Michael Selig and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins each posted on X that their agencies would proceed with crypto rules under existing authority. Decrypt and The Defiant reported Selig said the CFTC was 'ready to ship' its rules and Atkins said the SEC would act 'with or without legislation'. The Defiant reported the SEC's crypto offering rule was open for comment until 20 October and the CFTC had not yet proposed one.
- 15 Sep 2026
The Senate fails to advance the Clarity Act, 49 to 50 on a cloture vote · 4 articles
On Tuesday 15 September 2026 the Senate voted 49 to 50 on cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, short of the 60 votes needed. All 49 votes to proceed were Republican; Democrats who had been seen as possible supporters voted no, citing the bill's ethics provisions on the president's crypto holdings after Republicans rejected a Democratic counteroffer. Senator Tillis voted no to preserve a motion to reconsider. The House cannot vote again until after the November elections.
- 22 Jul 2026
Senate negotiators circulate a new working draft of the Clarity Act · 4 articles
On Wednesday 22 July 2026 Senate negotiators circulated a new working draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. CoinDesk reported it as a would-be final version that makes the ethics rule temporary. Decrypt, reading the 616-page text, reported it would bar the president, members of Congress and federal judges from being paid to issue or sponsor digital assets, lapsing in 2029. The Defiant reported that Senator Cynthia Lummis released the text, and quoted Senator Angela Alsobrooks calling the enforcement plan "wild and unserious".
Latest development · 17 Sep 2026
Government and regulators
The CFTC sends its crypto market rulemaking to the White House for review
On Thursday 17 September 2026, two days after the Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act, the CFTC filed a crypto rulemaking titled Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets with the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which reviews federal rules before publication; Cointelegraph reported the filing lists it at the prerule stage. The CFTC also issued a no-action position for passive software providers, which The Block, Cointelegraph and Unchained dated to Thursday and CoinDesk to Friday.
4 outlets reported it
- CoinDeskCFTC sends crypto rules to White House to review as Congress stalls on Clarity Act ↗
- The BlockCFTC files crypto asset rulemaking with White House, pressing ahead without Congress ↗
- CointelegraphCFTC submits crypto market regulation plan for White House review ↗aggregator
- UnchainedCFTC Sent Crypto Market Structure Rulemaking to the White House Two Days After Clarity Act Failed ↗AI-assisted, corroborating
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