The Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act failed to clear a key Senate vote, leaving the US without a comprehensive statute that would divide oversight of crypto between the SEC and the CFTC, according to CoinDesk and law firm analysis. The bill had passed the House but stalled in the Senate over provisions unrelated to securities law.
In response, the SEC issued an “Innovation Exemption” and the CFTC published a no-action letter on September 17, granting temporary relief for certain tokenized-stock trading and software providers, per Lowenstein Sandler. The relief is time-limited, underscoring that the framework is provisional.
The rulemaking path
The SEC’s proposed Regulation Crypto Assets and its October custody proposal now carry the framework forward. Both rely on the agencies’ existing authority rather than new legislation.
What to watch: whether Congress revisits the CLARITY Act in the current session, and how far the SEC and CFTC push rulemaking in the meantime.
