SEC Chair Paul Atkins said cryptocurrency regulatory guidance will proceed regardless of whether Congress passes the CLARITY Act, according to remarks at the Solana Policy Institute on September 14.
Atkins' statement removes one contingency from the regulatory timeline that has hung over digital asset markets for years. The CLARITY Act, which would establish a framework for classifying digital assets and limiting SEC jurisdiction over certain tokens, has stalled in the Senate despite bipartisan sponsorship. The SEC can now move unilaterally even if Congress deadlocks.
The SEC has moved aggressively on crypto enforcement and rulemaking since Atkins took the chair in January 2025. The agency sued Coinbase and Kraken over spot trading and staking services, argued that most tokens are unregistered securities, and proposed amendments to Regulation ATS that would extend broker-dealer rules to crypto trading venues. Those actions proceeded despite industry argument that regulatory uncertainty required legislative clarity first.
The CLARITY Act would carve out a digital commodity category distinct from securities and exclude most tokens from SEC oversight, routing them to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission instead. Sponsors include Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and J.D. Vance (R-Ohio). The bill has not advanced to a Senate floor vote, leaving the SEC's appetite for unilateral rulemaking as the primary driver of regulatory change.
Atkins' remarks indicate the SEC views legislative passage as beneficial but not necessary. He backed the CLARITY Act's goals while preserving the agency's ability to set its own standards for token classification and broker conduct. The SEC can threaten to impose stricter rules unilaterally if Congress moves slowly, or accelerate guidance if legislators fail to act.
The agency's crypto enforcement spending and rulemaking pipeline have remained constant across changes in Senate appetite. Since January, the SEC has filed enforcement actions in crypto at a pace roughly equal to or exceeding prior administrations, despite the CLARITY Act's presence in legislative text. Atkins' team is not waiting for Congress to move before reshaping the market's legal structure.
If Congress fails to pass CLARITY by year-end, Atkins has now committed the SEC to continued guidance that will fill the void. The agency will decide token classifications, broker licensing standards, and custody rules on its own schedule, eliminating legislative passage as a prerequisite for regulatory change.
