SEC Chair Paul Atkins says the agency is prepared to issue its own crypto market rules if Congress fails to pass the CLARITY Act.
• Atkins still prefers legislation, arguing the CLARITY Act would provide stronger, long-term legal certainty than SEC rulemaking alone.
• The bill faces growing time pressure as Senate priorities and unresolved ethics negotiations threaten its chances before the August recess.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins has signaled the regulator will not wait indefinitely for Congress, telling CNBC the agency stands ready to introduce its own rules covering key crypto market structure issues if lawmakers fail to pass the CLARITY Act.
Atkins said the SEC could address many of the same regulatory questions through its own rulemaking authority, though he stressed congressional action remains the preferred path and expressed confidence the legislation would eventually clear Congress.
Statute still ranks above rulemaking in its hierarchy. Atkins told CNBC the agency is "ready, willing, and able" to write the rules itself, while arguing legislation would provide lasting regulatory certainty, future-proof the framework governing digital assets, and give the SEC clear direction for overseeing the crypto market.
Agency staff is meanwhile providing technical assistance to lawmakers as they work through the market structure bill.
Comments landed against a deteriorating legislative calendar. Senate leadership has sidelined the digital asset market structure legislation to prioritize a Russia sanctions package and presidential nominees, shrinking the window before the August recess, while negotiations over government ethics provisions tied to President Donald Trump's crypto interests remain unresolved.
Ethics language has stalled the bill for months, and the compressed schedule now threatens industry efforts to secure the comprehensive CLARITY Act in 2026.
Institutional pressure runs the other way. BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity, and other Wall Street giants publicly backed the CLARITY Act this week, adding asset management muscle to a lobbying push that has so far failed to secure floor time.
Atkins arrives at this standoff with substantial unilateral progress behind him. In March, the SEC issued a landmark interpretation of federal securities laws classifying Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), and XRP as digital commodities rather than securities, resolving a question that consumed years of litigation under predecessor Gary Gensler.