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State and federal regulators are rushing to fill the void in U.S. cryptocurrency regulation after the Clarity Act , a comprehensive set of proposed rules for digital assets, stalled in the Senate .
Just two days after the Clarity Act failed to advance in the Senate, the Securities and Exchange Commission expanded its crypto rulebook under its existing authority. The agency issued an order creating a temporary pathway for trading certain tokenized stocks, inching financial markets closer to 24/7 trading.
The same day, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission submitted a crypto rulemaking proposal to the White House for review. The details of the proposal weren't made public, but a post by the Office of Management and Budget confirmed the rules were pending review.
The crypto industry , which had supported the Clarity Act, says it is eager for regulatory guidelines for the developing industry, as it has worked to shape the regulatory environment to its liking.
"When you're thinking about traditional finance entering in and using some of this technology, they're being held back right now because there is this regulatory uncertainty," Summer Mersinger , CEO of the Blockchain Association and a former CFTC commissioner, said. "Having the regulators provide some sort of certainty is going to really open up the industry to more investment, more integration into traditional finance, and really grow the sector."
And Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who is a key industry player urging Congress to act on the Clarity Act, told CNBC after a failed Senate procedural vote on Sept. 15: "At this point, I don't think we can wait on Congress and the Senate." Senate banking committee Chairman Tim Scott , R-S.C., also called on federal agencies to set "clear rules of the road" for digital assets until Congress legislates.
But new rules from federal agencies don't come quickly.
When asked how the agency plans to regulate crypto, the CFTC pointed CNBC to Chair Michael Selig's Sept. 16 statement where he said, "President Trump promised to deliver a future-proof crypto asset regulatory market structure one way or the other, and we will help him get the job done using our existing statutory authorities." CNBC also reached out to the SEC regarding next steps for regulating the digital asset industry, and a spokesperson said the agency will consider a proposal to "modernize the rules around custody of investment adviser client assets and fund assets, including to address crypto assets."
Caroline Pham , who served as acting CFTC chair from the day President Donald Trump took office for his second term until December, told CNBC that "a plan B to move forward at the agency level was always in the cards." Pham is now the CEO of MoonPay Institutional and chief legal officer and chief administrative officer for MoonPay , a crypto services provider.
"You have to have a contingency plan," she said, explaining that the CFTC and SEC took that into account with the work the agencies have been doing since Trump's second term began. That includes the " Project Crypto " initiative introduced in July 2025 to modernize securities regulations and align the SEC and CFTC's crypto rules.
In August 2025, Pham ann…