Bernstein Says SEC and CFTC To Rush Crypto Rules After CLARITY Act Failed - CoinMarketCap

The failure of the CLARITY Act has shifted the center of gravity in U.S. crypto policy away from Congress and toward the regulators. According to Bernstein, the SEC and CFTC are now expected to accelerate their own rulemaking to fill the gap left by the stalled legislation. That would mark a notable change in how crypto oversight takes shape: rather than a single statutory framework, the market may instead get a patchwork of agency rules issued on separate tracks.

For market participants, the practical effect is that the timeline matters as much as the content. Agency rulemaking typically moves through public comment periods and can be challenged in court, so the pace and legal durability of any new rules remain open questions. The division of jurisdiction between the two agencies—particularly over which tokens count as securities versus commodities—is another detail worth watching.

The broader relevance is that clearer rules, even if imperfect, tend to reduce the ambiguity that has weighed on U.S. crypto businesses. Whether agency-led action delivers that clarity faster than legislation would have is the key question ahead.