With CLARITY stalled, plan compliance against SEC and CFTC staff, not statute
A September 15 cloture vote needs 60 votes, and only 14 working days remain before the October recess. The SEC is drafting a token exemption in the meantime.
The Investor · Invest desk
What happened
- The SEC and CFTC, headed by Trump-appointed chiefs, are preparing to write their own cryptocurrency rules while the CLARITY Act remains stuck in the Senate.
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed a cloture motion setting a procedural vote for September 15 that would need 60 votes, and a failure there could effectively end the CLARITY Act.
- The CLARITY Act, described as the crypto industry's top legislative priority, was put off for another month after the Senate left for a five-week recess without voting on it.
- Lawmakers have only about 14 working days after they return from recess to pass the CLARITY Act before the October election break.
- If passed, the Clarity Act would define which tokens are considered securities and which are commodities, and which regulators have authority over the industry.
Why it matters
The SEC and CFTC, both led by Trump appointees, are preparing to write their own cryptocurrency rules while the CLARITY Act sits stuck in the Senate [3]. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has filed a cloture motion setting a September 15 procedural vote that needs 60 votes, and a failure there could effectively end the bill [1] - which means the operative American crypto rulebook for the next year is likely to be agency interpretation rather than legislation.
The calendar is the whole story. The Senate left for a five-week recess without voting on CLARITY, the industry's top legislative priority [4], and lawmakers have roughly 14 working days after they return before an October election recess [5]. That is under three sitting weeks to move a bill that would define which tokens are securities, which are commodities, and which regulator has jurisdiction [6]. Reuters reported on August 18 that regulators are moving in to set policy of their own in the gap [7].
What that looks like in practice: the SEC is expected within weeks to propose a rule exempting some token offerings from securities requirements [2], and the CFTC is scheduled to put crypto on the agenda at an industry gathering [8]. The agency work has already had one false start. On August 14 the SEC canceled a meeting at which it was to vote on proposing "Regulation Crypto," its first formal crypto-specific rulemaking [17]. That proposal would have created three routes for offering tokens, including one letting startups raise about $5 million without full registration and another allowing up to $75 million [18] - the larger path is fifteen times the smaller one [27]. Officials pulled the vote out of concern that the SEC acting alone would hurt CLARITY's chances in Congress [19]. A separate "innovation exemption," which would have let firms issue and trade digital versions of stocks and bonds outside full registration, was also delayed [20], after the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association argued changes that large belong in proper rulemaking rather than exemptions [21].
The political theater is on schedule. The White House was expected to host executives from crypto, prediction markets, and traditional finance on Wednesday [22]; Nate Geraci of Nova Dius Wealth wrote on X that expected attendees included SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, Acting CFTC Chairman Michael Selig, and executives from Coinbase, Ripple, Polymarket, Gemini, Nasdaq, the NYSE, CME Group, and DTCC [23]. That was one day before the CFTC's first Innovation Advisory Committee, a panel drawn from crypto, gambling, finance, and prediction market firms [9].
The reason firms are still paying for a statute after spending hundreds of millions on lobbying [24] is durability. Agency rules can be challenged in court and a future administration can scrap them [10]; the current one already reversed dozens of Biden-era SEC and consumer-protection policies [11], and former SEC Chair Gary Gensler sued dozens of crypto firms [12]. Josh Riezman, chief legal and strategy officer at GSR, told Reuters that new SEC and CFTC policies help in the short term but "the next administration, depending on how that shakes out, we can be looking very much like a potentially Gensler 2.0 type scenario" [13].
The blockers have not moved. Democrats want tougher anti-money-laundering safeguards and tighter ethics rules [14]; a July Republican update barring the president and federal officials from issuing or sponsoring crypto, with penalties reaching $250,000 a day, still leaves the parties split over whether the Justice Department or state attorneys general enforces it [15]. CME Group sued the CFTC in June over its approval of perpetual crypto futures [25].
Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence55
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+25
- Incentives60
- Confidence50
Perspective Coverage
3 publishers- Builder
- Builder 15%
- Operator
- Operator 38%
- Investor
- Investor 47%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed a cloture motion setting a procedural vote for September 15 that would need 60 votes, and a failure there could effectively end the CLARITY Act.
- [2]
The SEC is expected within weeks to propose a rule that would exempt some token offerings from securities requirements.
- [3]
The SEC and CFTC, headed by Trump-appointed chiefs, are preparing to write their own cryptocurrency rules while the CLARITY Act remains stuck in the Senate.
- [4]
The CLARITY Act, described as the crypto industry's top legislative priority, was put off for another month after the Senate left for a five-week recess without voting on it.
- [5]
Lawmakers have only about 14 working days after they return from recess to pass the CLARITY Act before the October election break.
- [6]
If passed, the Clarity Act would define which tokens are considered securities and which are commodities, and which regulators have authority over the industry.
- [7]
Reuters reported Tuesday, August 18, that with crypto legislation stalled, U.S. regulators are moving in to set policies of their own.
- [8]
The CFTC is set to put crypto on the agenda at an industry event later this week.
- [9]
The White House meeting happens one day before the CFTC holds its first Innovation Advisory Committee, a panel drawn from crypto, gambling, finance, and prediction market firms.
- [10]
Rules written by regulators can be challenged in court, and a future administration could scrap them.
- [11]
The Trump administration already reversed dozens of Biden-era SEC and consumer-protection policies.
- [12]
Former SEC Chair Gary Gensler sued dozens of crypto firms under President Biden.
- [13]
Josh Riezman, chief legal and strategy officer at crypto trading firm GSR, said that while new policies from the SEC and CFTC would help the sector in the short term, "the next administration, depending on how that shakes out, we can be looking very much like a potentially Gensler 2.0 type scenario."
- [14]
Opposition to the bill comes from Democrats who want tougher anti-money-laundering safeguards and tighter ethics rules.
- [15]
Republicans updated the bill in July to bar the president and other federal officials from issuing or sponsoring crypto, with penalties reaching $250,000 a day, but the parties still disagree over whether the Justice Department or state attorneys general should enforce the ban.
- [16]
Time is running out for lawmakers to agree a deal before the new Congress begins in 2027.
- [17]
On August 14, the SEC canceled a meeting where it was set to vote on proposing its first formal crypto-specific rulemaking, known as "Regulation Crypto."
- [18]
The Regulation Crypto proposal would have created three ways for companies to offer tokens, including one that would have let startups raise about $5 million without full SEC registration and another path allowing fundraising of up to $75 million.
- [19]
The SEC canceled the vote because officials worried that the SEC moving forward on its own could hurt the chances of the CLARITY Act passing in Congress.
- [20]
The SEC also delayed a plan called the "innovation exemption" that would have let crypto firms issue and trade digital versions of stocks and bonds without full SEC registration.
- [21]
The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association pushed back on the innovation exemption, arguing that large changes should go through proper rulemaking procedures rather than exemptions that skip the normal process.
- [22]
The White House was reportedly expected to host executives from crypto, prediction markets, and traditional finance on Wednesday.
- [23]
Nate Geraci, president of Nova Dius Wealth, wrote on X that expected attendees include SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, Acting CFTC Chairman Michael Selig, and executives from Coinbase, Ripple, Polymarket, and Gemini, alongside Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange, CME Group, and the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation.
- [24]
Cryptocurrency companies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying for legislation that would provide more stable legal status.
- [25]
CME Group sued the CFTC in June over its approval of perpetual crypto futures.
- [26]
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, who leads the agency's Crypto Task Force, is set to leave the agency in November 2026, adding pressure on the SEC to finish its work before she goes.
- [27]
The $75 million path is 15 times the size of the roughly $5 million path.
Sources
3 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- cryptobriefing.comWhite House adviser optimistic on CLARITY Act ahead of Senate vote
1 article · August 19, 2026
- cryptopolitan.comTrump's SEC and CFTC move to write crypto rules as CLARITY Act stalls
1 article · August 18, 2026
- pymnts.comClarity Act Impasse Leaves Regulators Setting Crypto Policy
1 article · August 18, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- Token Offering Exemptions
- US Crypto Market Structure Legislation
- SEC and CFTC crypto regulation