Regulatory Chiefs Signal Unity Before Upcoming White House Cryptocurrency Summit
On Thursday, CFTC Chair Mike Selig and SEC Chair Paul Atkins appeared on CNBC while stablecoin yield provisions in the CLARITY Act remain under discussion.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Mike Selig and US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins joined CNBC's Squawk Box on Thursday for a discussion covering the cryptocurrency market structure legislation and an upcoming Monday meeting being convened by the White House.
The legislation has recently encountered delays in the Senate, where it is currently undergoing committee examination following its successful passage through the House of Representatives, as legislators address outstanding matters on both the Banking and Agriculture Committees.
A major point of contention within the proposed legislation revolves around the treatment of stablecoin yield, a matter that has created a rift between cryptocurrency firms and traditional banking institutions. Concerns over multiple provisions, including those addressing yield, recently prompted Coinbase to pull its support for the legislation.
During questioning, Atkins and Selig both seemed reluctant to stake out positions on the contentious issue. According to Atkins, the SEC has been providing guidance to both committees and is "looking forward to helping them get across the finish line and getting something that works for all the parties."
Referencing the GENIUS Act, which passed in July 2025, Selig noted that stablecoin policy has been positioned primarily beyond the agency's jurisdiction, allowing the commission to concentrate on "securities, tokens and tokenized securities."
According to Selig, the agency is prepared to participate once legislators achieve consensus, stating: "We're ready, willing, and able to work with whatever they come up with."
These comments were delivered as United States lawmakers convened a committee session on Thursday to deliberate and propose modifications to the cryptocurrency market structure legislation. Following slightly more than an hour of deliberations, the Senate Agriculture Committee cast a 12–11 vote in favor of advancing the digital asset market structure bill, paving the path for a subsequent floor vote.
As negotiations over the stalled CLARITY Act move forward, the White House's crypto council has scheduled a gathering between executives from the cryptocurrency sector and banking industry.
Designed to establish the United States regulatory framework for digital assets, the CLARITY Act is proposed legislation that would outline how regulatory authority would be distributed between the CFTC and the SEC.