CFTC officials are already preparing an alternative regulatory framework if lawmakers remain deadlocked and fail to pass the CLARITY Act.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong expects US crypto regulation to move forward by mid-September, either through a Senate vote or new SEC and CFTC rules.
His comments came after a White House meeting with President Donald Trump and crypto executives, as lawmakers prepare to revisit the CLARITY Act.
Armstrong Lays Out Two Paths to Clarity
Armstrong posted on X on August 21 that “clarity is coming either way,” pointing to September 15 and September 16 as possible turning points. He expects more than 60 Senate votes for the CLARITY Act on September 15, or new rules from the CFTC and SEC the following day.
His post quoted CFTC Chairman Mike Selig, who had written hours earlier that his agency would not wait indefinitely on Congress if the CLARITY Act keeps stalling over what he called Democratic obstruction.
Selig said in a video shared with his post that “the CFTC will utilize its existing authorities to begin establishing a regime” for crypto markets, adding that the plan could let both registered firms and non-registered exchanges apply for a new designation permitting leveraged and margin crypto trading under CFTC oversight.
He also said he had directed staff to work with developers of on-chain finance protocols so they can offer their products legally in the US, and warned that if Democrats do not back a bipartisan version of CLARITY, he would move the CFTC’s own rules forward instead.
Armstrong, after Wednesday’s meeting with Trump and crypto executives, called the September 15 vote the thing that would make the administration’s crypto progress durable for decades to come. He credited the administration for the GENIUS Act, the strategic Bitcoin reserve, and, just days earlier, a new SEC proposal that would let crypto companies raise up to $5 million over four years or $75 million within 12 months. That new capital-raising proposal shows what agency-led rules might look like if the bill stalls again.
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The Coinbase chief also pointed to hundreds of pages of changes contributed by Democratic senators, pushing back on the idea that support for the bill breaks cleanly along party lines.
Why the Senate Math Is Tight
Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed for cloture on CLARITY before the August recess, setting the September 15 vote in motion, but the bill still needs 60 votes. Republicans hold 53 seats, so at least seven Democrats or independents have to join them.
Galaxy Research recently cut its odds of passage this year from 50% to 30%, citing unresolved fights over ethics provisions, illicit finance rules, and language from the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Meanwhile, a bipartisan proposal from Republican Senator Thom Tillis and Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego, which would tighten restrictions on public officials issuing their own cryptocurrencies and give state attorneys general a bigger enforcement role, has stalled after the White House did not respond to it in time.
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