SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said the agency is prepared to issue its own cryptocurrency market regulations if Congress fails to pass the Clarity Act, telling CNBC on Monday that the SEC is "ready, willing, and able to come out with rules" covering the same ground and would "stand ready to provide that" should the bill stall in the Senate.

Atkins emphasized that legislative action remains the preferred path. "Statute is the way to future-proof something," he said, arguing that the market needs "the certainty of a statute" so the regulatory framework does not shift with each successive administration. He expressed optimism that Congress will ultimately pass the bill and noted that the SEC is providing technical assistance. In a post on X on Tuesday, Atkins reiterated that he is "committed to supporting Congress in advancing" the legislation.

The Clarity Act would resolve a jurisdictional question that has defined crypto regulation for years: whether digital assets are securities under SEC authority or commodities under CFTC oversight. The ambiguity has fueled dozens of enforcement actions and left exchanges and token issuers navigating overlapping or uncertain requirements.

Where the Bill Stands

The Clarity Act passed the House 294-134 in July of last year and cleared the Senate Banking Committee 15-9 in May, with nine Democrats voting against. It has not yet reached a Senate floor vote, where it would require 60 votes to advance. The Senate is scheduled to break for its August recess.

The bill would grant the CFTC exclusive jurisdiction over spot markets in digital commodities, effectively moving most tokens outside the SEC's regulatory reach.

Senate Democrats have recently voiced opposition to the latest version of the bill, arguing that proposed ethics provisions covering officials' crypto dealings do not go far enough. The question of whether stablecoins should be permitted to pay yield also remains unresolved.

Late last week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune indicated to reporters that the Clarity Act would likely not clear the chamber before the August recess, and the Senate has since shelved the bill for the time being. The chamber is expected to reconvene in September, when the legislation could be revisited if the outstanding disputes are resolved.

The SEC's Contingency Framework

The SEC has already developed much of an alternative regulatory framework. Atkins's Project Crypto, announced in November, produced a Regulation Crypto rulemaking package now on the agency's 2026 agenda. It covers token registration exemptions, a safe harbor for decentralizing projects, broker-dealer custody rules, and trading venue regulation. Atkins has described the initiative as a bridge to the Clarity Act.

The limitations of that administrative approach are central to his argument. The SEC and CFTC's March guidance classifying 16 tokens—including Bitcoin and Ethereum—as digital commodities is administrative in nature and can be withdrawn by a future administration without a congressional vote. Administrative rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act also requires public notice and comment periods, meaning the SEC's contingency framework would take months to finalize even if work began immediately.