Michael Selig said the CFTC will use its existing authority to set market structure rules if the CLARITY Act fails to pass this year
The Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Michael Selig said the agency will write its own crypto market rules if Congress fails to pass the CLARITY Act this year, telling industry executives the regulator stands ready to act alone.
Selig made the remarks Thursday at the inaugural meeting of the CFTC’s Innovation Advisory Committee, speaking to crypto and prediction market executives alongside committee Chair Walt Lukken. He said the agency was “ready to begin immediately implementing the bill” if lawmakers pass it, but would fall back on existing statutory powers if the measure stalls.
“If CLARITY continues to stall because of Democrat obstruction, the CFTC will utilise its existing authorities to begin establishing a regime for crypto asset markets,” Selig said. “We owe it to the American people to do so.”
If CLARITY continues to stall because of Democratic obstruction, the @CFTC will utilize its existing authorities to begin establishing a regime for crypto asset markets. We owe it to the American people to do so.
Here's how we'll get it done ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/mROqraLzFe
— Mike Selig (@ChairmanSelig) August 20, 2026
CTFC: existing authority as a backstop
Selig said he had already told staff to explore rulemaking rather than wait on Congress.
“I’ve directed the CFTC staff to begin exploring rules to codify a CFTC market structure for crypto assets using the agency’s existing authorities.”
Selig stressed passing the CLARITY Act remained the surest way to stop a future administration reversing the rules, referencing former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, whom he says ran “a rogue campaign of lawfare against the individuals and companies in this room today”.
“We will heed President Trump’s call to codify a future-proof digital asset market structure that cannot be undone by the crypto haters,” Selig added.
What the rules would cover
Crypto exchanges would receive a new “crypto asset market” designation from the CFTC and be cleared to offer trading under the plan Selig described. He said the designation drew partly on the agency’s existing designated contract markets.
The rules could let registered exchanges and certain non-registered crypto platforms offer leveraged or margin trading under CFTC oversight, adding staff were examining ways for developers to “offer their protocols in a legal and compliant manner”.
The committee also discussed artificial intelligence and prediction markets. Selig has led the CFTC’s legal campaign against state governments over prediction market oversight, seeking to defend what he calls the agency’s exclusive jurisdiction across several lawsuits.
Where the CLARITY Act stands
The CLARITY Act would divide federal oversight of digital assets between the CFTC and the SEC. The bill has been under negotiation between Senate Republicans and pro-crypto Democrats for close to a year. Ethics provisions remain the main obstacle, with Democrats seeking tighter restrictions.
The demand centres on Trump, whose family holds interests across several crypto businesses and has taken in more than $1.4bn from the sector, according to a Reuters analysis, even as his administration pushes legislation governing it.
Senate Republican leaders missed a vote before the August recess and pushed it back, reducing the bill’s chances of clearing Congress this year. Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture on the motion to proceed on 8 August, setting a procedural vote for 2:15 p.m. ET on 15 September, the day after the Senate returns.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott said the legislation has a “really good shot” of moving forward that month.
The SEC advanced its own digital asset proposals on Tuesday. The regulator released draft rules, dubbed “Regulation Crypto Assets,” that would offer a safe harbour from tokens being treated as investment contracts and provide certain exemptions for issuers.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the commission expects the CLARITY Act to reach the president’s desk and that it is acting under current authority in the meantime.
Selig said he would hold off on formal rulemaking to give Congress room to vote. “We’re going to give CLARITY its breathing room for a vote, but if the Democrats cannot support a bipartisan work product which reflects compromises from both sides of the aisle and ultimately send a fair version of the bill to the president’s desk, then rest assured, I will direct CFTC staff to move swiftly to propose these rules for the industry,” he said.
Selig is the only Senate-confirmed commissioner at the CFTC and has directed the agency’s agenda alone since December.
