SEC, CFTC Speed Crypto Rulemaking Despite Congress Recess

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are stepping up work on their own cryptocurrency rules even as Congress is in its summer recess. The agencies are moving to update regulations as the fate of the CLARITY Act, a bill on crypto market structure, remains uncertain.

Decrypt reported on August 31 that the SEC and CFTC began a joint public comment process in June on swaps, security-based swaps, the definition of emerging products and the scope of each agency’s jurisdiction.

Former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo and former SEC Commissioner Steven Wallman wrote in a recent comment letter to the SEC that setting the wrong regulatory standards for swaps, security-based swaps and emerging products could drive lucrative markets overseas.

The SEC recently asked the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a White House review office, to examine proposed revisions to asset custody rules for investment advisers and investment companies. The proposal would set out a regulatory framework allowing SEC-regulated investment advisers and investment companies to hold digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, while complying with federal securities laws. The specific provisions have not been disclosed.