CFTC Sends Crypto Rules to the White House After the CLARITY Act Stalls

With the CLARITY Act stalled in the Senate, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is taking the regulatory route instead. On September 17, 2026, the CFTC sent a crypto market structure rulemaking to the White House for review. The move gives the U.S. industry a second possible path to clearer oversight, though it will be slower, and perhaps less durable, than a law passed by Congress.

What the CFTC Submitted

The filing, titled “Regulation of Crypto Asset Transactions and Crypto Asset Markets” (RIN 3038-AF80), went to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). OIRA sits inside the White House Office of Management and Budget and reviews significant federal rules before they are published. Coverage of the filing describes it as two related proposals, one covering crypto asset transactions and one covering crypto asset markets.

The text is not public yet. The filing is at the pre-rule stage, and its contents stay confidential while OIRA reviews it. Public statements from CFTC Chair Michael Selig and reporting from CoinDesk, Yahoo Finance and others do give a rough outline. According to that reporting, the plan would create a new category of Designated Contract Market (DCM). That category would let crypto trading venues offer leveraged trading under CFTC oversight, all without new legislation.

Why Now: The CLARITY Act Setback

The timing matters. The submission came two days after the Senate rejected the CLARITY Act 49-50, well short of the 60 votes needed to move it forward. The bill would have split oversight of digital assets between the SEC and the CFTC. It was widely seen as the industry’s best chance at a comprehensive federal framework this year.

After the vote, Selig made clear the agency would press ahead with the powers it already has. In a CNBC interview he summed up the agency’s stance as “it’s go time.” In other public remarks he framed the effort as delivering a crypto market structure through the CFTC’s existing statutory authority.

How Long Will This Take?

Traders should not expect new rules to take effect quickly. Federal rulemaking follows a fixed sequence of steps, and reporting on the filing lays out a timeline that runs well into next year:

• OIRA review: typically up to 90 days, and extensions are possible.
• Federal Register publication: if the review ends on schedule, publication could come around November or December 2026.
• Public comment: a comment period of roughly 60 days would follow publication.
• Final rule: a binding final rule may not take effect until late 2027.

Rules vs. Legislation: The Durability Question

Agency rules carry a known weakness compared with statutes. JPMorgan analysts have pointed out that a future administration can revise regulations, and courts can challenge them, far more easily than they can undo an act of Congress. For exchanges and institutions planning years ahead, that uncertainty still matters. A CFTC framework could bring clarity for now but might not survive a change in leadership or a legal challenge.

Some groundwork is already in place. In March 2026 the SEC and CFTC jointly classified 18 digital assets as commodities, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and XRP. That classification gives the CFTC a clearer basis to regulate spot and leveraged markets in those assets.

The Wider Regulatory Picture This Week

The CFTC filing was not the only policy news in late September:

• Prediction markets: New York sued Polymarket, accusing it of running an unlicensed gambling service. Polymarket argues that prediction markets fall under CFTC jurisdiction rather than state gambling law. That question could matter more if the CFTC’s authority over crypto markets grows.
• Stablecoin payments: On September 25, SoFi and Mastercard launched a stablecoin settlement system, bringing digital-dollar settlement into Mastercard’s payment network.
• Tokenization in Europe: On September 23, ESMA announced a new Union Strategic Supervisory Priority on how supervised firms use AI, tokenization and other emerging technologies.
• Blockchain record-keeping: Earlier this month the SEC proposed updated transfer agent rules that would let agents use distributed ledger technology to track who owns securities.

What to Watch Next

The next milestone is OIRA completing its review and the proposal appearing in the Federal Register. That is when the industry will finally see the actual text, including how the new DCM category is defined, which assets qualify, and what leverage and customer-protection limits apply. Look for heavy comment activity from exchanges, brokers and consumer advocates once it is published. Congress may also try to revive market-structure legislation.

For now, the practical takeaway is that U.S. crypto regulation is moving forward, just not through the route many expected. It will take time and could change along the way.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.