SEC Chair Expects Clarity Act Vote on Sept. 15

Wall Street's top regulator said he expects the long-awaited Clarity Act to pass this month, placing the U.S. on track to become the "crypto capital of the world."

In a Tuesday interview with Fox Business, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins confirmed the agency is advancing rulemaking to support the crypto industry.

Pro-digital asset lawmakers had aimed to pass the Clarity Act before the August recess, but the vote was postponed to September. The bill will create a classification system for digital assets as securities, commodities, or stablecoins.

"The Regulation Crypto Assets proposal is our most historic step yet to cement America as the Crypto Capital of the World"

"The Clarity Act will be voted on in the Senate on the 15th of September," Atkins said. "I anticipate and hope that it will be passed by the Senate and sent ultimately to the President's desk for a signature."

He added: "We're changing the past approaches to try to update [rules], modernize them in the age of blockchain and crypto assets."

Despite the delay in the Clarity Act vote, agencies like the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission have said they will continue shaping crypto policy.

Last week, the SEC sent a proposal to the White House aimed at "clarify the framework for the custody of crypto assets" for investment advisers and companies.

Although the House of Representatives passed the Clarity Act last year, it has been deadlocked most of this year after conflict among the banking lobby, lawmakers, and crypto firms over whether platforms like Coinbase can offer yield to customers.

Some lawmakers have tried to change the bill's language on ethics, and a new draft emerged in July. That version bans government officials from promoting or profiting from crypto.

But other Democratic lawmakers said it did not go far enough; many pro-crypto Republicans accused Democrats of deliberately playing politics and delaying the bill.