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SEC cancels crypto vote
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission abruptly canceled a meeting scheduled for Friday on whether the agency should propose new crypto-related rules, moving it “due to an unforeseen scheduling issue,” according to an SEC spokesperson cited by Reuters.
“due to an unforeseen scheduling issue”
The meeting had been set for commissioners to vote on proposing “a tailored offering regime for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets,” a first crypto-specific rulemaking aimed at exemptions that would allow crypto startups to raise capital without complying with traditional securities offering rules.
Reuters reported the cancellation came after the Senate left Washington on Saturday for a five-week recess without voting on the industry’s top legislative priority, the Clarity Act, with the bill’s next procedural test not expected until September.
Under SEC Chair Paul Atkins, the agency has reversed its crypto policy and laid out plans to overhaul capital markets regulations to accommodate tokens and blockchain-based trading, including a March suggestion of a safe harbor and a “fit-for-purpose startup exemption.”
No replacement date
The SEC’s formal notice, issued under the Sunshine Act and signed by SEC secretary Vanessa Countryman, recorded only that the meeting “has been cancelled,” with no mention of a new date.
A spokesperson told reporters the session would move to a later date “due to an unforeseen scheduling issue,” but without elaboration, leaving the rulemaking timeline uncertain.
Decrypt reported the vote would not have created anything binding and would have opened a proposal to public comment, but it would have marked the first time the agency attempted crypto-specific rulemaking rather than applying existing securities law.
While the SEC meeting stalled, the CFTC proceeded with its own event: an inaugural meeting of its Innovation Advisory Committee on August 20, with an agenda session titled “Crypto's Regulatory Evolution: From Uncertainty to Clarity.”
CLARITY Act and next steps
The delay leaves the CLARITY Act back in focus, with the next procedural test scheduled for September 15 after lawmakers return, according to Crypto News.
“RIN 3235-AN38, as pending review”
Crypto News said the SEC’s Aug. 14 cancellation should not be read as the SEC withdrawing Regulation Crypto, and it pointed to Reginfo.gov listing the SEC’s “Crypto Assets” proposal, RIN 3235-AN38, as pending review.
Atkins had previewed the Regulation Crypto framework in March, including a temporary startup exemption with illustrative figures of up to four years and roughly $5 million, and a larger fundraising exemption that could permit as much as $75 million during a 12 month period.
Meanwhile, the CFTC’s Innovation Advisory Committee meeting on August 20 is set to discuss crypto, AI, and prediction market regulations, with CFTC Chair Michael Selig saying he was “keen to meet entrepreneurs, thinkers, and builders” as financial products evolve.
