SEC's Atkins Vows Crypto Rule Push After Senate Setback on CLARITY Act - finance.biggo.com

The Securities and Exchange Commission appears ready to advance crypto-related rulemaking through its own channels after the Senate stalled on the CLARITY Act, according to remarks attributed to SEC Chair Paul Atkins. The development signals that the agency may rely on its formal rulemaking process rather than waiting for Congress to pass comprehensive market structure legislation.

For market participants, this matters because agency rules can move faster than bills, but they are also more vulnerable to legal challenge and can be reversed by future leadership. A rule-based approach could clarify registration paths, custody expectations, and disclosure duties for digital asset firms — areas that have long operated under enforcement-driven uncertainty.

What to watch: the scope and timing of any proposed rules, whether they invite public comment, and how courts and industry groups respond. Also relevant is whether Congress revisits the CLARITY Act, since durable statutory frameworks typically carry more weight than agency-only measures. Until then, the regulatory picture remains a mix of incremental guidance and pending legislative effort.