The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has moved ahead with a new crypto market rulemaking, sending a proposal to the White House for review just days after the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act.
The filing, received by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Sept. 17, is titled “Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets.” It remains at the prerule stage, meaning the filing does not yet create new requirements for crypto exchanges or market participants.
The move comes as U.S. regulators increasingly use their existing authority to address digital asset markets while comprehensive legislation remains stalled in Congress.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The CFTC submitted its crypto rulemaking to the White House on Sept. 17 for regulatory review.
- The proposal remains confidential, so its detailed requirements are not yet public.
- CFTC Chair Michael Selig had previously indicated the agency would move forward with crypto rules if Congress failed to act.
- The CFTC also issued no-action relief for certain passive software providers connecting users with regulated derivatives markets.
- The SEC separately introduced a five year framework for qualifying venues to trade certain tokenized stocks onchain.
- Bitcoin climbed back above $80,000 as crypto markets recovered from the Senate’s CLARITY Act setback.
CFTC MOVES AHEAD AFTER CLARITY ACT STALLS
The CFTC filing arrived two days after the Senate rejected a procedural motion to advance the CLARITY Act by a 49-50 vote. The legislation required 60 votes to proceed. The filing itself provides limited information about what the agency intends to change. OIRA lists the action under RIN 3038-AF80 and classifies it as a prerule rather than a proposed rule. It is also marked as not economically significant under the applicable review framework. That distinction matters. The submission is an early regulatory step, not a final rule, and crypto businesses cannot yet rely on it as a new legal framework.
The CFTC has not publicly disclosed the full text of the proposal while it remains under review. Selig had signaled the agency’s direction immediately after the Senate vote, saying the CFTC was “locked in and ready to ship its rules for the new frontier of finance.” The agency’s approach could become particularly significant for crypto trading venues if future rules establish a clearer framework for platforms offering derivatives or other products under CFTC supervision.
REGULATORS KEEP MOVING WITHOUT NEW LEGISLATION
The CFTC filing is part of a broader series of regulatory actions this week. On Sept. 17, the SEC approved its Innovation Exemption, giving qualifying Tokenized Securities Venues a temporary five year exemption from the federal definition of an exchange when trading certain tokenized NMS stocks. The framework also provides conditional relief for certain liquidity providers.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the measure would help bring U.S. capital markets “into the digital age,” while stressing that the exemption is temporary and intended to inform future rulemaking. The SEC framework requires tokenized stocks to provide the same rights as the underlying securities, including dividend and voting rights. Synthetic products that merely provide exposure to a stock are excluded.
Together, the SEC and CFTC actions show regulators taking separate steps within their existing statutory authority rather than waiting for Congress to establish a comprehensive market structure law.
CFTC ALSO OPENS A DOOR FOR CRYPTO SOFTWARE
The CFTC separately issued a no action position covering providers of passive software used to connect customers with registered derivatives firms and trading venues. Under specified conditions, the agency said its Market Participants Division would not recommend enforcement against qualifying providers solely for failing to register as introducing brokers or associated persons of an introducing broker.
The relief applies to software that facilitates trading with registered futures commission merchants, introducing brokers and designated contract markets. Providers must remain within the conditions outlined by the CFTC, including requirements concerning their role in the transaction and compliance obligations. The action gives crypto wallet and trading interface developers additional clarity while the broader regulatory framework is being developed.
BITCOIN RECOVERS AS REGULATORY ACTIVITY PICKS UP
Crypto markets also showed signs of recovery following the sharp reaction to the Senate’s CLARITY Act vote. Bitcoin climbed back above $80,000 on Sept. 18, marking a rebound from the losses recorded earlier in the week. Reports also showed strong gains across major altcoins, including Solana and Hyperliquid.
The market recovery came despite the Federal Reserve raising its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points earlier in the week. The combination of regulatory developments and renewed buying interest helped shift attention away from the immediate legislative setback. The CFTC’s filing does not itself guarantee any particular outcome for crypto markets. The proposal remains at an early stage, and its eventual scope will depend on the regulatory process that follows.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
The White House review is only one stage in the CFTC’s rulemaking process. The agency must still develop and publish the relevant regulatory proposal before formal public participation and subsequent Commission action can occur.
That means the market will have to wait for the actual text before determining how the rules could affect exchanges, token listings, derivatives platforms and other crypto businesses. For now, the filing confirms that the CFTC intends to continue working on crypto market rules even without a new congressional framework.
CONCLUSION
The CFTC’s submission to the White House marks another significant step in the U.S. government’s ongoing effort to establish clearer rules for digital assets. The timing is notable. Congress has not yet advanced the broader CLARITY Act, but the SEC and CFTC are continuing to use their existing powers to address specific parts of the crypto market.
The immediate focus will be on what the CFTC’s confidential proposal contains and how far the agency believes its authority extends. Until those details become public, the filing should be viewed as the beginning of another regulatory process rather than a completed crypto market framework.
