Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael S. Selig has directed agency staff to begin developing crypto market structure rules, positioning the regulator to act on its own authority if Congress fails to pass the Clarity Act.

Speaking Thursday at the inaugural meeting of the CFTC's Innovation Advisory Committee, Selig said passing bipartisan market structure legislation remains his preferred path forward. In his remarks, he said "the most important step towards future-proofing this industry is passing this bipartisan bill."

The Clarity Act would establish a federal framework for digital assets and clarify the respective roles of the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission in overseeing crypto markets. That turf split has framed crypto policy in Washington for years: the SEC has pressed the view that many tokens are securities, while the CFTC, which polices commodity derivatives, has long overseen the futures and swaps built on those same assets. Selig argued that legislation would make those rules harder for a future administration to reverse.

"Passing Clarity is the surest way that we can prevent another Gary Gensler from running a rogue campaign of lawfare against the individuals and companies in this room today," Selig said, referring to the former SEC chair, who brought several costly lawsuits against crypto startups. Several of those cases have since been dropped or settled under the commission's current leadership, leaving market structure as the industry's chief unresolved issue.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump urged Congress to pass a "fair version" of the Clarity Act. But if Congress fails to act, Selig said, the CFTC is prepared to move ahead on its own.

"If Clarity continues to stall because of Democrat obstruction, the CFTC will utilize its existing authorities to begin establishing a regime for crypto asset markets," he said.

Staff work is already underway. "To achieve this, I've directed the CFTC staff to begin exploring rules to codify a CFTC market structure for crypto assets using the agency's existing authorities," Selig said.

Under the framework he outlined, current CFTC registrants and currently unregistered crypto exchanges could come under CFTC oversight and offer leveraged or margined crypto trading under rules tailored to digital asset markets. The agency already supervises listed crypto futures and has brought enforcement actions against major offshore platforms, including Binance, though its direct authority over spot commodity markets has largely been limited to policing fraud and manipulation, a gap the Clarity Act is designed to close.

Selig has also directed staff to engage with developers of on-chain finance protocols on how they could legally operate in the United States.

"I've also directed staff to engage with developers of on-chain finance protocols to establish ways in which developers can offer their protocols in a legal and compliant manner in the United States, future-proofing developer protections once and for all," he said, referencing previous comments made by President Trump.

During a press conference with leading crypto executives on Wednesday, Trump also said Selig is working to bring decentralized perpetual futures exchange Hyperliquid into the United States.

The Clarity Act passed the House earlier this year but has since stalled in the Senate, which punted a vote to September as Democrats held out. Selig said the agency will give Congress more time to pass the Clarity Act before moving forward on its own. Any rules the CFTC drafts would still be subject to public comment before taking effect, and unlike legislation they could be revised by a future administration, the outcome Selig has argued only Congress can foreclose.

"Rest assured, I will direct CFTC staff to move swiftly to propose these rules for the industry," he said.