The Clarity Act Stalled. Agencies Now Write Crypto's Rulebook - Forbes

When the Clarity Act stalled in Congress, it left a question hanging over U.S. crypto regulation: with no comprehensive statute, who decides the rules? The answer, increasingly, is federal agencies. Regulators such as the SEC and CFTC are advancing crypto policy through guidance, enforcement actions, and rulemaking rather than waiting for legislation. In practice, that means the framework governing digital assets is being assembled piece by piece, agency by agency.

For markets, the shift matters because agency-led rulemaking is faster and more flexible than the legislative process — but also less durable. Guidance can be revised, and enforcement priorities can change with new leadership or court rulings. That creates a different kind of uncertainty than a stalled bill: not whether rules will exist, but how stable they will prove over time.

What to watch: how courts treat agency interpretations of existing securities and commodities law, whether the SEC and CFTC coordinate or diverge, and whether Congress eventually reasserts itself with legislation. Until then, agency actions remain the clearest signal of how U.S. crypto oversight will take shape.