SEC takes the initiative: regulator to present its own draft rules for tokens amid CLARITY Act freeze
While the US Congress has gone on its August recess without passing the long-awaited CLARITY Act bill, regulators have decided not to wait for favors from lawmakers and to act on their own. This Friday, August 14, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will hold an open vote on the Regulation Crypto proposal — a new specialized regime for token offerings. This will be the agency's first major step under Paul Atkins toward creating a regulatory framework for the crypto industry.
Details of the initiative: what the SEC proposes
According to the official agenda, the meeting will take place at 10:00 AM Eastern Time at SEC headquarters in Washington with a live webcast. Commissioners will consider whether to advance rules that would create a separate legal procedure for raising capital through tokens. The key idea is to provide issuers with simplified market access through preferential regimes, sparing them from the need to undergo the full and costly securities registration process.
This initiative grew out of the broader Project Crypto — a regulatory package that Atkins placed on the SEC's agenda for 2026. Among other things, the project provides for exempting certain token offerings from registration, creating "safe harbors" for decentralized projects, and establishing custody standards for broker-dealers. It is important to understand: Friday's vote concerns only the publication of the proposal for public comment, not its final approval.
Political context: why the law is stalling
The CLARITY Act bill, designed to clearly delineate the powers of the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has faced serious obstacles. Democrats blocked its consideration due to amendments related to ethics and the crypto assets of former President Donald Trump, while Republicans Josh Hawley and Jerry Moran opposed the provisions on stablecoin yields, protecting the interests of local banks. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has promised to return to the matter in September, but passage will require 60 votes, which is unlikely without Democratic support.
Notably, the CFTC is acting in the same vein. Commission Chairman Michael Selig stated outright in a July interview: if Congress does not pass the law, regulators will write all the rules for the crypto industry. Both agencies are already working closely together — in March, they adopted a joint interpretive rule that removed most tokens from the scope of securities law and set out conditions for staking, mining, and airdrops.
My analysis: The market implications of this initiative are hard to overstate. If the SEC proposes clear and workable rules, it could become a powerful catalyst for institutional adoption of crypto assets. However, one should not forget: any regulatory decisions are temporary. The next administration could overturn them with a stroke of a pen if Congress never enshrines them in law. Therefore, Friday's vote is not the final point, but merely the beginning of a long and unpredictable process in which the stakes for the entire industry are extremely high.