SEC chair Atkins expects CLARITY Act to move forward this month

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chairman has said he expects the CLARITY Act to advance through the Senate this month as regulators continue developing crypto rules alongside Congress.

Speaking to Fox Business on Tuesday, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said he expects lawmakers to move forward with the legislation in September and eventually send it to President Donald Trump for his signature.

“The Clarity Act will be voted on in the Senate on the 15th of September,” Atkins said. “I anticipate and hope that it will be passed by the Senate and sent ultimately to the President’s desk for a signature.”

The Sept. 15 action, however, is currently scheduled as a procedural vote on whether the Senate should begin considering the legislation, not a final vote on passage. Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture on the motion to proceed before lawmakers left Washington for their August recess.

As crypto.news previously reported, the cloture motion is scheduled to ripen at 2:15 p.m. ET on Sept. 15. Supporters will need 60 votes to clear the procedural hurdle before senators can move into debate, amendments and subsequent votes.

CLARITY Act faces its Senate test on Sept. 15

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act would establish a federal framework for digital assets and divide regulatory responsibilities between agencies including the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The House passed H.R. 3633 by a 294 to 134 vote in July 2025, with 78 Democrats joining Republicans. The Senate Banking Committee later advanced its version by a 15 to 9 vote in May 2026.

Lawmakers had sought to move the legislation before the August recess, but negotiations failed to produce enough support for a vote. Senate leaders eventually pushed consideration into September as disagreements continued over stablecoin rewards, ethics rules and provisions covering financial crime.

Atkins expressed confidence that the process could still move forward and said regulators were already changing how they approach digital assets.

“We’re changing the past approaches to try to update [rules], modernize them in the age of blockchain and crypto assets,” he said.

The SEC chairman tied the regulatory work to the Trump administration’s push to make the United States what the president has described as the “crypto capital of the world.”

SEC is moving ahead with crypto rules

Congressional delays have not stopped federal regulators from working on digital asset rules under their existing authority.

The SEC took another step on Aug. 25 when it sent a crypto custody proposal to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review.

The proposal is intended to clarify how investment advisers and investment companies can custody crypto assets for clients. It could remove some existing requirements that the SEC considers outdated under current market practices.

The complete proposal is expected to become public after White House review and an SEC commission vote.

Atkins has previously said the regulator could address parts of crypto market structure through rulemaking even if Congress takes longer to complete legislation. The SEC cannot independently give the CFTC all the additional spot market authority contemplated under the CLARITY Act.

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig has taken a similar position. The regulator has prepared digital asset proposals that could move forward using powers it already holds, even if Congress does not pass CLARITY.

Selig said in August that “crypto will get market structure regardless of bill,” although he did not specify when the proposals would be released.

The CFTC currently regulates crypto derivatives and can pursue fraud and manipulation involving spot commodity transactions. Broader routine supervision of digital commodity spot markets would still require authority from Congress.

Stablecoin rewards remain a sticking point

CLARITY has spent much of 2026 caught in negotiations involving lawmakers, crypto companies and the banking industry.

One of the main disputes concerns stablecoin rewards. Banking groups have pushed lawmakers to tighten provisions that could allow platforms such as Coinbase to provide customers with rewards linked to stablecoin balances.

Banks have argued that allowing crypto platforms to offer such rewards could encourage customers to move deposits from traditional financial institutions into payment stablecoins. Crypto companies have pushed against restrictions that could prevent platforms from sharing stablecoin related revenue with users.

Ethics provisions have created another obstacle. Some Democratic lawmakers have sought tougher restrictions covering government officials’ involvement with digital assets and their ability to profit from crypto businesses.

A revised proposal circulated in July included provisions designed to restrict government officials from promoting or making money from crypto, but some Democrats argued that the language remained insufficient.

Republicans, meanwhile, have accused Democratic negotiators of repeatedly changing their demands during negotiations.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott criticized Democratic negotiators during an August appearance, arguing that disagreements had prevented the legislation from moving forward.

The Senate vote count remains important because Republicans cannot clear the procedural threshold alone. At least 60 senators must support cloture before the chamber can begin considering H.R. 3633, meaning some Democratic support will be required.

The House-approved bill and any version eventually passed by the Senate would need to contain identical language before legislation could be sent to Trump. If senators amend the House measure, the changes would require additional congressional action.

For now, the next formal step is scheduled for Sept. 15, when the Senate is expected to hold its cloture vote on the motion to proceed with the CLARITY Act.