The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sent the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a proposed rule on crypto asset markets on September 17, 2026, two days after the Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. The bill was meant to settle which federal regulator oversees which digital asset in the US. A procedural vote to open debate on it drew 49 votes in favor and 50 against on September 15, well short of the 60 needed to break a filibuster.
The CFTC proposal is designed to cover the ground Congress left open. OMB review is a mandatory step before a proposed rule can be published, and the text had not been made public as of that date.
Selig had promised to act if Congress would not
CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said in August 2026 that the agency would move without waiting for Congress if it had to. “We owe it to the American people to do so. President Trump promised to deliver a crypto asset market structure, and we will help him deliver if Congress will not,” he said. The September 17 filing makes good on that pledge.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong struck the same note on X after the Senate vote: “The SEC and CFTC have the tools they need to create clear rules under existing authority, and I expect will begin working on this in earnest.” His post reflects an industry that now looks to rulemaking, rather than legislation, to get around the deadlock in Congress.
The Senate vote was procedural, not a rejection on the merits
A cloture vote does not decide what a bill says. It decides whether the Senate can end debate and move to a final vote. The 60-vote threshold, higher than a simple majority, protects the minority from a bill passed without extended debate. The September 15 result does not mean the Senate rejected the Clarity Act. It means the chamber could not muster enough votes to take it up for now. The bill remains pending, and no new vote has been scheduled.
Stablecoin payments already have their own federal regime
Payment stablecoin issuance has been governed by a separate federal framework since the GENIUS Act became law in 2025. It requires full reserve backing and a guaranteed right of redemption, and the Clarity Act’s failure leaves it intact. The open questions sit further upstream: the legal status of tokens traded on exchanges, the division of authority between the CFTC and the SEC over those spot markets, and the custody rules for intermediaries that convert crypto assets into funds that can be used for payments.
- Payment stablecoin issuance: covered by the GENIUS Act and unaffected by the Clarity Act’s failure
- Spot markets for other crypto assets: oversight still contested between the CFTC and the SEC, with no statute to settle it
- Custody and conversion for payments: dependent on the rules each regulator adopts on its own
- Legal certainty for issuers and exchanges: weaker without a law passed by Congress, since a future administration could change agency rules more easily
Two days from Senate setback to CFTC filing
The CFTC and the SEC have both said they intend to move ahead on crypto market structure without waiting for another try in Congress. As of September 19, 2026, the CFTC had not set a date to publish its proposed rule. OMB review always comes before a public comment period opens.