SEC and CFTC to pursue 'swift' regulation after CLARITY Act falls short in Senate
According to Bernstein, regulatory bodies are preparing to introduce comprehensive new rules to offset delays caused by CLARITY Act negotiations, following the bill's failed cloture vote this week.
Following Tuesday's failed Senate cloture vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, analysts at Bernstein are anticipating "aggressive and swift" regulatory action from both the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
In a Wednesday note provided to Cointelegraph, Bernstein's research team indicated that these federal regulatory bodies will move forward with publishing comprehensive new regulations designed to "make up for the time lost negotiating the CLARITY Act."
According to the analysts, anticipated agency regulations will encompass token taxonomy guidelines for capital raising purposes, protective measures for developers working on decentralized finance and self-custodial protocol projects, exemptions designed to foster innovation in equity tokenization, expedited approval processes for real-world asset perpetual futures products, and revisions to existing rules governing federal sports event contracts and how they are classified as swaps.
According to Bernstein's assessment, these federal regulatory agencies will deliver enhanced regulatory clarity to the digital asset industry, serving as compensation for the unsuccessful passage of the CLARITY Act, legislation that would have "fool-proofed the industry against political regime shifts."
The US Senate on Tuesday was unable to advance a cloture motion concerning the CLARITY Act, legislation that aimed to establish the nation's inaugural comprehensive regulatory framework governing digital assets. According to Bernstein's research team, the likelihood of scheduling a re-vote on this legislation appears minimal, pointing to the constrained legislative calendar and ongoing controversies surrounding the bill's ethics-related provisions.
The SEC put forward new regulatory proposals on Aug. 19 designed to establish a "clear and fit-for-purpose framework for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets," providing pathways for entities to access capital markets while maintaining robust investor protection standards. These proposed regulatory measures provide crypto-focused companies with exemptions permitting token issuances of up to $5 million over a four-year period and as much as $75 million within a 12-month timeframe, alongside a safe harbor provision that exempts certain cryptocurrencies from classification as "investment contracts."
Speaking with CNBC on July 27, SEC Chair Paul Atkins stated that his agency was "ready, willing, and able to come out with rules" governing digital assets should the Senate prove unable to pass the CLARITY Act.