The CFTC has crypto market-structure proposals ready to move even if the CLARITY Act fails in the Senate, its chair said on Aug. 20. The bill faces a cloture vote on Sept. 15 that needs 60 votes, and its odds of passing have weakened since February. The same day, the CFTC opened its first Innovation Advisory Committee meeting to examine digital-asset oversight.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission already has digital asset market structure proposals prepared that could move forward whether or not Congress passes the CLARITY Act, CFTC Chair Michael Selig said, according to an Aug. 20 report from Whale Insider. According to Whale Insider: "Crypto will get market structure regardless of bill", Selig said.
Selig's statement did not identify which proposals the agency has finished drafting or when it could publish them. Congress would still need to act before the regulator could receive the full spot-market authority the CLARITY Act contemplates.
CFTC could act within its existing powers
The CFTC currently oversees derivatives tied to digital assets, including futures, options and swaps, and its enforcement authority covers fraud and manipulation in spot commodity transactions. But it lacks the routine supervisory power over crypto spot exchanges that it holds over registered derivatives platforms. Without legislation, any CFTC proposals would have to stay within the authority the Commodity Exchange Act already provides, covering registered derivatives venues, intermediaries and disclosure requirements rather than a complete framework for spot digital-commodity trading.
CLARITY Act faces a 60-vote Senate test
Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture on the motion to proceed to the CLARITY Act before the August recess, and the procedural vote is set to ripen on Sept. 15. Cloture requires 60 votes, so Republican support alone may not be enough to advance the bill. The House approved its version in July 2025, and the Senate Banking Committee advanced its text in May 2026.
The bill's chances of becoming law in 2026 have fallen below 20% on Polymarket by mid-August, down from 82% in February. President Donald Trump urged lawmakers on Aug. 19 to pass what he called a "fair version" of the legislation, describing it as bipartisan and necessary to preserve the administration's digital asset policies beyond his presidency.
Advisory committee meets as the SEC pulls back
The CFTC's first Innovation Advisory Committee meeting ran from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT on Aug. 20, covering digital assets, artificial intelligence in financial markets and prediction markets. The advisory body can recommend action but cannot adopt binding rules or expand the CFTC's jurisdiction, and the public can submit written statements through Aug. 27.
Separately, Securitize President Brett Redfearn said the SEC pulled back a planned innovation exemption because of concerns tied to the Sept. 15 CLARITY Act vote, and he expects it to return after the vote, possibly in early October.
Source: crypto.news
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