Bernstein analysts anticipate aggressive rulemaking from US regulators following the failure of the CLARITY Act. The SEC and CFTC are expected to introduce new regulations to provide clarity for the digital asset industry, compensating for the legislative setback.
The failure of the CLARITY Act means that US regulators will likely take a more active role in shaping digital asset rules, potentially leading to a fragmented and less predictable regulatory landscape for crypto companies and investors.
Bernstein analysts anticipate that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will pursue "aggressive and swift" rulemaking for digital assets following the failure of the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act to pass a Senate cloture vote on Tuesday. In a note shared with Cointelegraph, the analysts stated that these agencies will likely introduce new regulations to compensate for the lost time in negotiating the CLARITY Act.
The expected regulations from the federal agencies could include a token taxonomy for capital raising, measures to protect developers in decentralized finance and self-custodial protocols, exemptions for equity tokenization, faster approval processes for real-world asset perpetual futures, and amendments to rules concerning federal sports betting contracts and their classification as swaps. Bernstein believes these actions will provide greater regulatory clarity for the industry, which the CLARITY Act would have secured against political shifts.
On August 19, the SEC had proposed new rules aimed at establishing a clear framework for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets, offering exemptions for companies to issue tokens and a safe harbor from being treated as "investment contracts." SEC Chair Paul Atkins had previously indicated on July 27 that the agency was prepared to develop rules for digital assets if legislative efforts like the CLARITY Act did not succeed.