The CFTC Is Writing Crypto Rules the Senate Just Refused to Pass - Startup Fortune

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is moving ahead with crypto rulemaking even after the Senate declined to advance related legislation, according to Startup Fortune. The development highlights a recurring feature of U.S. crypto policy: when Congress stalls, federal agencies often fill the gap through their own rulemaking authority.

For markets, the key question is which agency ends up setting the rules of the road. The CFTC has generally been seen as a more permissive regulator for digital assets than the Securities and Exchange Commission, so its expanded role could shape how tokens, derivatives, and trading venues are classified and supervised. That matters because jurisdictional clarity — or the lack of it — has been a persistent source of uncertainty for exchanges, brokers, and institutional participants.

What to watch: the substance and timing of the CFTC's proposals, how the SEC and Congress respond, and whether agency-written rules survive legal challenge. Until the division of authority is settled, crypto oversight is likely to remain a patchwork shaped as much by regulators as by lawmakers.