CFTC sends crypto rules to White House as Congress stalls Clarity Act

The CFTC submitted a proposal for crypto-market rules to the White House Office of Management and Budget on Thursday. The submission followed the Senate's failure to pass the Clarity Act earlier this week. Details were not disclosed. It remains unclear which crypto assets the proposal covers. It remains unclear what exchanges would need to do to qualify. It remains unclear what restrictions would apply. It also remains unclear how far the CFTC believes its authority extends. After the OMB reviews the draft, it will return to the CFTC for a vote and public comment. The proposal would need another vote to become effective. The CFTC also issued no-action relief for certain passive software providers, including some crypto wallet interfaces. The relief allows those providers to connect users with regulated derivatives markets without registering as introducing brokers. The SEC issued an innovation exemption on Thursday. The exemption gives qualifying platforms a five-year path to offer onchain trading of certain tokenized stocks without registering as securities exchanges. Both agencies have vowed to continue working together to provide the crypto industry with clearer rules under their existing authority after the Clarity Act failed to pass.