SEC's Atkins Backs Clarity Act, Will Pursue Crypto Rules
SEC Chair Paul Atkins threw his weight behind the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act while making clear the agency will keep pushing crypto rules with or without it, a dual-track message that puts legislation and independent SEC action on parallel paths as the Senate lines up a procedural vote.
Speaking at a Solana Policy Institute event in Washington on Monday, September 14, 2026, Atkins urged Congress to advance the Clarity Act and send it to the president, according to CoinDesk reporting. In the same remarks he said the administration would deliver for investors and technological innovators regardless of whether the bill becomes law. For related coverage, see SEC Chair Paul Atkins Gives Update on the CLARITY Act.
Atkins backs the Clarity Act
Atkins framed his support as a preference, not a dependency. He called on lawmakers to move the legislation forward, echoing the endorsement seen elsewhere in Washington as the SEC chair has previously updated the market on the CLARITY Act, while signaling that the agency would not wait for Capitol Hill to act. For related coverage, see SEC Chairman Paul Atkins Comments on Crypto Asset Regulation Proposal.
That posture connects support for the bill to a stated intention that the SEC continue building crypto rules on its own authority. The reporting paraphrases Atkins rather than quoting exact wording, so his position is best read as a policy signal: legislation is welcome, but the rulemaking machinery is already in motion. The broader coalition backing the bill has grown, from Block endorsing passage to the Consumer Technology Association supporting it.
SEC crypto rules remain on the agenda without the act
What Atkins says will continue
The reported SEC agenda rests on three pillars: Regulation Crypto Assets for issuance, a modernization of transfer-agent rules to accommodate blockchain ownership ledgers, and a crypto custody framework for investment advisers and regulated funds, per CoinDesk’s same-day coverage.
SEC crypto agenda: reported pillars
3
Issuance · Transfer agents · Custody
On custody, Atkins asked staff to develop a proposal that could, under conditions, allow advisers to hold crypto themselves and use state trust companies as custodians. This describes a proposal under development, not an adopted permission for advisers to self-custody client assets.
The direction mirrors the two-track approach Atkins laid out earlier this year. In his Project Crypto policy speech, he described a Commission-wide effort to modernize securities rules so markets can move on-chain, and said he directed staff to draft rules for crypto asset distributions, custody and trading for public notice and comment while the Commission weighed interpretative and exemptive authorities.
Pursuing rules versus adopting them
None of these initiatives are settled law. Regulation Crypto Assets is described as a framework in progress, the transfer-agent overhaul is a modernization effort, and the custody instructions are directions to staff, all consistent with Atkins’ earlier comments on the crypto asset regulation proposal. Pursuing rules through notice-and-comment is distinct from adopting or implementing them, and the reporting does not establish that any rule has changed.
What remains unclear about the next steps
As of the September 14 report, a Senate cloture vote on the motion to proceed to the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, September 15, U.S. Eastern time. Cloture on a motion to proceed is a procedural step, not final passage, and the available reporting does not establish that the vote has occurred or that the bill has passed, failed, or been delayed, a tension captured in coverage of the Clarity Act’s uncertain Senate path.
Industry resistance is already sharpening. Eight banking groups, including the American Bankers Association, Bank Policy Institute and ICBA, wrote Senate leaders on September 14 seeking tighter restrictions on stablecoin interest and rewards. The coalition argued that a proposed deposit-flight circuit breaker would trigger only after substantial deposit losses, acting too late to protect bank funding, though that is the coalition’s policy argument rather than verified evidence that stablecoin rewards drive deposit flight.
What the current information does not settle is which rules the SEC will ultimately advance or when any might take effect. Against a backdrop of broadly firm sentiment, with the Fear & Greed Index reading 69, or “Greed,” the near-term signal is procedural: a scheduled Senate vote and an agency signaling it will keep drafting regardless of the outcome.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.