The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has submitted a proposed rule governing crypto asset transactions and markets to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review — days after the Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act, leaving regulators to act under their existing authority. The filing arrives alongside parallel moves by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which the same day opened a five-year path for platforms to offer onchain trading of tokenized stocks, and a CFTC no-action letter easing market access for software providers. Taken together, the moves show US crypto market rules advancing through regulatory action while the legislative route remains stalled.

The filing was received on September 17 and is listed at the "prerule" stage, meaning it remains early in the rulemaking process. No details about the rules have been made public.

CFTC Submits Crypto Market Rule Proposal for White House Review as CLARITY Act Stalls A regulatory filing on the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) website indicates that the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) submitted a proposal to regulate… pic.twitter.com/XJSzJ9k1MK

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) September 18, 2026

The proposal is titled "Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets." It is not yet clear which assets it would cover or what exchanges would need to do to comply. Once the OMB — which vets draft regulations before agencies can publish them — completes its review, the draft returns to the CFTC for a vote and a period of public comment. A second vote would then be required before the rules take effect. The comment stage will give industry participants and other stakeholders their first formal opportunity to respond once the text is disclosed. The filing was reported by CoinDesk.

Senate Fails to Advance Clarity Act

The Clarity Act was designed to create a federal framework for crypto markets. The Senate did not advance the measure during a vote on September 15. For now, that outcome leaves US crypto market structure to be shaped by agency rulemaking rather than new legislation.

The day after the vote, CFTC Chair Michael Selig posted on X that the agency was "locked in and ready to ship" rules using its existing authority. SEC Chair Paul Atkins separately said the SEC would move ahead "with or without legislation."

pic.twitter.com/N87oIV8mXC

— Mike Selig (@ChairmanSelig) September 16, 2026

Selig had signaled this direction in August. At an Innovation Advisory Committee conference on August 20, he said the CFTC was prepared to act if the Clarity Act stalled. He also said he had directed staff to explore rules that could allow registered and unregistered crypto exchanges to become a type of designated contract market known as a "crypto asset market," where leveraged crypto trading could be offered under CFTC oversight. Designated contract markets are exchanges the CFTC has approved to list futures and options contracts, a status that would place participating crypto venues under the agency's direct supervision.

SEC Opens Path for Tokenized Stock Trading

On the same day the CFTC filed its proposal, the SEC issued an "innovation exemption" giving qualifying platforms a five-year window to offer onchain trading of certain tokenized stocks — blockchain-based representations of traditional equities — without registering as securities exchanges. Both agencies say they are working together to give the crypto industry clearer rules under their current authority.

The CFTC also published a no-action letter on Friday. The relief allows certain software providers to connect users to regulated derivatives markets without registering as introducing brokers, intermediaries that solicit derivatives customers but do not execute trades themselves. Providers can market specific contracts and collect transaction-based fees, but they cannot hold customer funds, generate trading signals, or control how orders are routed.

The relief comes with conditions including risk disclosures and recordkeeping requirements. It remains in place until the CFTC adopts formal rules for software developers. In the meantime, these interim measures outline the pathways currently available to firms seeking access to regulated US markets under the agencies' existing authority.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said after the Senate vote that regulators already have the tools they need. "So clarity is coming to crypto regardless," he wrote on X on September 15.

Source: CoinCentral