Bernstein: US SEC and CFTC May Accelerate Crypto Rulemaking After CLARITY Act Stalls

BlockBeats news, September 16 — Bernstein analysts said that after the CLARITY Act failed to pass a Senate procedural vote, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are expected to advance digital asset rulemaking "aggressively and swiftly" to make up for time lost in prior bill negotiations.

Bernstein expects the new rules could cover the classification of tokens used for fundraising, protections for DeFi and self-custody protocol developers, an innovation exemption for tokenized equities, fast-track approval for real-world asset perpetual contracts, and revisions to rules related to sports event contracts and their swap classification. The relevant agencies may supplement regulatory clarity for the industry through administrative rules.

Analysts believe the CLARITY Act could originally have reduced through legislation the risk of the regulatory framework shifting with changes in the political environment, but due to limited remaining legislative time and disputes over ethics provisions, the likelihood of another vote on the bill is low.

The SEC has previously proposed a new framework applicable to certain crypto asset investment contracts, which would allow entities to issue no more than $5 million in tokens within 4 years, or no more than $75 million in tokens within 12 months, and establish safe harbor arrangements. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has also previously said that if Congress fails to pass the CLARITY Act, the agency is capable of formulating digital asset rules on its own.