With the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act stuck in legislative limbo, the SEC and CFTC are preparing to step in and fill the regulatory gap, according to Crypto Briefing. The two agencies are expected to issue their own rules aimed at bringing order to the digital asset landscape.

The legislation, formally known as H.R. 3633, passed the House in July 2025 but has stalled in the Senate after lawmakers left for August recess without a vote. The bill was designed to clarify which digital assets count as securities and which count as commodities, a distinction that determines whether the SEC or the CFTC has jurisdiction over a given token or protocol.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed for cloture before the recess, a procedural step that could allow debate to resume in September. Still, the bill faces long odds: Polymarket put its implied probability of passage at roughly 16% as of early August. Unresolved issues include ethics provisions tied to decentralized finance, stablecoin regulations, and the challenge of securing enough Democratic votes to overcome a potential filibuster.

With Congress effectively sidelined, the Trump administration is turning to agency leadership. The SEC, now led by pro-crypto Chair Paul Atkins, and the CFTC, under Chair Michael Selig, are both expected to move forward with agency-level regulations. Those rules could include exemptions for certain token offerings, giving projects more room to launch without the constant threat of enforcement action. The CFTC, meanwhile, may focus on enhancing oversight of perpetual futures and other derivatives that operate in a regulatory gray zone in the U.S.

Agency-level policy carries inherent fragility. Rules created under one administration can be rewritten or repealed by the next, and a future SEC chair with a different philosophy could reverse Atkins' exemptions with relative ease. Legislation, once signed into law, is far harder to undo.

The lack of a durable legal framework leaves institutional investors facing a difficult calculus, since the rules governing their crypto exposure could shift depending on the outcome of the next election. The crypto industry has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into lobbying efforts, spending that has bought access and attention but not yet a law. Agency announcements tend to move markets, and the coming months could bring a series of them as the SEC and CFTC roll out their respective frameworks.

Congress returns in September, offering a narrow window for the Clarity Act to get back on track. With the market effectively pricing in failure, the agency-led approach may become the only plan for the remainder of this Congress if Thune cannot marshal the votes after recess.