Crypto
One Commissioner Started Writing the CFTC Crypto Rulebook This Week
Two days after the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission stopped waiting. On September 17 the agency filed RIN 3038-AF80, titled Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets, with the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. It is the first dedicated federal rulemaking for crypto asset markets, and it arrived 48 hours after Congress stalled.
The filing's fine print is where the story lives. OIRA lists the action at the prerule stage, ahead of any proposed rule. Under Executive Order 12866, the White House gets 10 working days to review preliminary actions, against 90 days for proposed and final rules. This is the only CFTC action currently pending White House review. And Michael Selig is the agency's only sitting commissioner. Put it together and a single commissioner is about to write the opening draft of America's crypto market rulebook, on a clock measured in days.
The prerule stage is the part of Washington almost nobody watches, which is exactly why it matters. Before a proposed rule exists, the agency is still deciding which questions to ask. Industry participants who engage now help shape the questions instead of merely answering them later. Pantera Capital founder Dan Morehead captured the mood on CNBC Friday, saying the SEC and CFTC are enacting all of the things that would have been in Clarity anyway.
The agencies are moving on parallel tracks. The SEC published a five year Innovation Exemption on September 17 allowing approved platforms to trade tokenized stocks on chain. The CFTC issued new recommendations stepping back enforcement actions against certain software providers and developers offering prediction market, derivatives and crypto trading services. Bitcoin reclaimed $80,000 Friday morning, up more than 5 percent, as the market read the regulatory momentum as constructive.
For crypto holders, the message is simple. The rules of American crypto markets are being written right now, in a process designed to move fast, by regulators who have decided that waiting for Congress is optional. Clear rules are the on-ramp institutions have been asking for. Watch the OIRA clock. The next ten working days could define the next ten years. The ten working day review clock is already running, which gives builders, lawyers and traders a narrow window to help shape the first draft of American crypto market structure. Windows this clear deserve a wide audience.
Quick answers
What is this story about?
Two days after the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission stopped waiting. On September 17 the agency filed RIN 3038-AF80, titled Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets, with the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. It is the first dedicated federal rulemaking for crypto asset markets, and it arrived 48 hours after Congress stalled.
Why does this story matter?
For crypto holders, the message is simple. The rules of American crypto markets are being written right now, in a process designed to move fast, by regulators who have decided that waiting for Congress is optional. Clear rules are the on-ramp institutions have been asking for. Watch the OIRA clock. The next ten working days could define the next ten years. The ten working day review clock is already running, which gives builders, lawyers and traders a narrow window to help shape the first draft of American crypto market structure. Windows this clear deserve a wide audience.
Sources
- The Defiant: CFTC files crypto market rulemaking with White House at prerule stage
- The Block: Bitcoin reclaims $80,000 as crypto markets shrug off Clarity setback
- CryptoRank: CFTC submits crypto market rule proposal to White House review
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