SEC Chair Paul Atkins said on Wednesday that the agency’s new cryptocurrency regulation proposal aligns with the agency’s belief that the CLARITY Act will be enacted into law.
Atkins Hails ‘Most Historic Step’
During an interview with Fox Business, Atkins reiterated that the proposal is the "most historic step" taken to modernize cryptocurrency regulations and cement the U.S. as the “Crypto Capital of the World.”
“I think this is an important step to try to reshore, to bring back to the United States innovators that we have over the past administration’s four-year term chased offshore,” he added.
The proposal includes a “safe harbor” allowing non-security cryptocurrency assets to exit SEC oversight once issuers complete promised managerial efforts and meet decentralization conditions. The exemptions also require issuers to provide certain "principles-based narrative disclosures" to investors.
But what happens if Congress fails to pass the CLARITY Act?
‘Statutory Grounding’ Necessary, Says Atkins
Atkins said the new proposal is grounded in the “authority” that the agency has under current laws, but believed the cryptocurrency legislation is crucial for the proposal’s success
“The good thing, the necessary thing with respect to the statute, is that it makes it a very much more stable over time,” he added.
Atkins said that they are trying to change the past approaches, but a future commission can go through the same process and change the rules.
“What we really do need though, is statutory grounding of this to make sure that it is sustainable, lasting into the future,” the SEO Chair emphasized.
CFTC is Ready to Move Swiftly if CLARITY Doesn’t Pass
Atkins’ tone differed slightly from that of CFTC Chair Mike Selig, who said that the commodities regulator would "move swiftly" to propose new rules for the industry if the CLARITY Act stalls due to Democratic obstruction.
Selig said that the CFTC would codify a future-proof digital asset market structure that cannot be undone by “crypto haters.”
The Senate procedural vote remains on the calendar for Sept. 15. The remaining sticking point, however, is an ethics provision tied to President Donald Trump’s family’s cryptocurrency interests.
Polymarket prices the odds of the bill becoming law in 2026 at 16% as of this writing.
Trump hosted a White House cryptocurrency summit with Selig and Atkins last month, where he urged Congress to pass the CLARITY Act. He described CLARITY as a "powerful, structured legislation" that will keep the U.S. ahead of China.
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