The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is preparing to advance crypto market regulations even if the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act stalls in Congress. CFTC Chair Mike Selig confirmed at the Innovation Advisory Committee that the agency will use its existing authority to create a framework for crypto assets.
Speaking alongside finance and crypto leaders, Selig said the CFTC is poised to propose rules that could allow both registered and unregistered crypto exchanges to operate under a specialized designation as “crypto asset DCMs.” That could facilitate leveraged trading inside a regulated environment, but may also raise compliance costs for exchanges and reshape trading practices.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, a CFTC Innovation Advisory Committee member, said the U.S. is “closer than ever” to establishing clear cryptocurrency rules after the committee’s inaugural meeting on Aug. 20. He emphasized that rules written for a different era are not good enough for consumers, business or innovation.
Garlinghouse’s optimism reflects a joint SEC-CFTC interpretation issued in March that created five token categories — digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins and digital securities. But the interpretation is agency guidance, not binding federal law, and could be revised by future regulators.
The main legislative test is the CLARITY Act’s Sept. 15 Senate cloture vote, which requires 60 senators to proceed to floor consideration. Outstanding disputes involve stablecoin rewards, DeFi protections, ethics provisions, illicit-finance controls and consumer safeguards.
Ripple’s prior court ruling distinguished XRP from the circumstances of particular sales, but the litigation ended with a $125.04 million civil penalty and an injunction. The ruling did not create a nationwide statutory framework for every future XRP sale.
The market is watching whether a 60-vote failure would leave SEC and CFTC guidance as the main federal framework while lawmakers decide whether to resume negotiations after the midterm elections.
