US crypto rulemaking momentum
U.S. lawmakers and regulators are converging on a clearer digital-asset rulebook as the CLARITY Act reportedly gains bipartisan momentum and the SEC’s proposed “Reg Crypto” was sent to the White House’s OIRA earlier this month. ( ). Analysts and law firms point to an emerging token taxonomy from the SEC and CFTC interpretive guidance that distinguishes digital commodities, stablecoins and digital securities. ( ).
Washington is moving toward a more defined crypto rulebook, with Congress and the Securities and Exchange Commission advancing parallel tracks in April. (sec.gov) The congressional track centers on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, or CLARITY Act, which Congress.gov says was introduced on May 29, 2025, passed the House 294-134 on July 17, 2025, and was referred to the Senate Banking Committee on September 18, 2025. (congress.gov) The regulatory track moved on March 17, 2026, when the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued a joint interpretation on how federal securities laws apply to crypto assets and transactions. The release took effect on March 23, 2026. (sec.gov, sec.gov) That interpretation sets out a five-part token map: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins, and digital securities. The agencies also said the guidance covers airdrops, protocol mining, protocol staking, and the wrapping of a non-security token. (sec.gov) In plain terms, the fight in Washington has been over which referee oversees which token. The House bill would generally put digital commodity trading under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while the Securities and Exchange Commission would still police securities offerings and related markets. (congress.gov, congress.gov) The Securities and Exchange Commission said its March interpretation is meant to draw “clear lines” between securities and non-securities, and Chairman Paul Atkins said “most crypto assets are not themselves securities.” Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael S. Selig said the agencies are aiming for “harmonized regulations.” (sec.gov) Congress has been trying to write those lines into statute for months. The House Financial Services Committee’s report says the bill would create a system for regulating the offer and sale of digital commodities by the two agencies, and the House committee said the measure was written with the Agriculture Committee because the Commodity Futures Trading Commission falls under that panel’s jurisdiction. (congress.gov, financialservices.house.gov) The Securities and Exchange Commission is also building an internal process around that shift. Its Crypto Task Force, led by Commissioner Hester M. Peirce, says it is gathering public input, holding meetings, and working to “draw clear regulatory lines” and create “realistic paths to registration” for crypto assets and intermediaries. (sec.gov) The practical question for firms is no longer only whether Washington will regulate crypto, but which rules attach to which token and which agency will enforce them. Congress and regulators are now answering that question with the same basic structure, even as the Senate and the White House still control what becomes binding law. (congress.gov, sec.gov, reginfo.gov)
