SEC Chair Paul S. Atkins issued a direct public appeal to Congress on Thursday, demanding urgent passage of the CLARITY Act to establish America's first formal cryptocurrency market structure framework. In a social media push echoing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's recent warnings, Atkins framed the legislation as critical to ending the SEC's current 'regulation by enforcement' approach and replacing it with clear statutory rules for consistent federal oversight of digital assets.
“At project Crypto is designed so once Congress acts, @SECGov & @CFTC are ready to implement the CLARITY Act,” Atkins wrote, adding that “It’s time for Congress to future‑proof against rogue regulators & advance comprehensive market structure legislation to President Trump’s desk.”
His remarks came a day after Bessent published an op‑ed in the Wall Street Journal warning that the United States risks losing its leadership in financial innovation if lawmakers fail to pass the bill.
Bessent urged durable legislation that would give entrepreneurs and developers the confidence to “reshore” digital‑asset activity to American markets, arguing that decisive legal standards have historically made the US the world’s financial center.
Atkins’ appeal references Project Crypto, the coordinated SEC–CFTC effort to create a unified approach to token classification and to streamline how on‑chain trading, custody, and settlement are treated under federal law.
That initiative culminated in a joint interpretation in March clarifying how securities laws apply to certain crypto assets and transactions — a milestone that many described as the first meaningful step toward the kind of legal clarity the sector has sought for years.
The push for the CLARITY Act, however, is occurring amid stalled negotiations and a high‑stakes dispute between the banking and crypto industries over a provision of the already passed GENIUS Act, the country’s stablecoin legislation.
That earlier legislation included a measure prohibiting permitted stablecoin issuers from paying interest or yield to customers simply for holding tokens.
Banks argue the rule left a gap that third parties could exploit by offering rewards to stablecoin holders and have demanded that the market‑structure bill close that loophole. The crypto sector counters that the ability to provide rewards is crucial for stablecoins to compete effectively as payment instruments.
Despite multiple White House meetings intended to bridge the divide, no public compromise has yet been announced. Senators Angela Alsobrooks and Thom Tillis appeared to find bipartisan common ground late last month, but it remains unclear whether their proposal satisfies both the banking and crypto lobbies.
Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
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