U.S. Congress has postponed action on the cryptocurrency "Clarity" bill until September, but U.S. regulators are accelerating pro-crypto policy moves separate from legislation.

Bitcoin Magazine reported on Aug. 11 that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are preparing to overhaul crypto rules, targeting this week and the remainder of the current administration’s term, respectively.

The SEC plans to roll out measures this week to support the crypto industry. The SEC said it will hold an open meeting on Friday to discuss a proposal to create a tailored issuance framework for certain investment contracts that include crypto assets. The move is seen as an effort to design separate standards rather than apply existing securities rules uniformly to crypto.

The CFTC also plans to continue its rulemaking work regardless of the legislative delay. Michael Selig (마이클 셀리그), a CFTC commissioner, said it is ready to proceed with rulemaking regardless of whether the Clarity bill is enacted, and that the goal is to finalize regulations before the current administration ends. That means supervisory authorities will not halt institutional overhauls even if Congress moves slowly.

The backdrop is the delay in handling the Clarity bill. Pro-crypto lawmakers had expected the bill to pass before Congress entered its August recess, but the schedule slipped and the vote has now been pushed to September. Lawmakers have reviewed a new revised draft since July. The revised draft includes an ethics provision barring government officials from promoting cryptocurrencies or profiting from them.

Opposition within the Democratic Party remains. Senator Cynthia Lummis said some Democrats are intentionally delaying passage of the bill. As a result, broad legislation at the congressional level is more likely to face further friction for the time being.

In this situation, the market is watching for a shift in regulators’ stance. The SEC and CFTC have moved in a much more crypto-friendly direction since President Donald Trump took office than before. Under the Joe Biden administration, when Gary Gensler led the SEC, it pursued aggressive enforcement against crypto firms such as Coinbase and Kraken.

Under the current Republican administration, several major lawsuits against crypto firms have been dropped. Trump pledged during the election campaign to make the United States the world’s digital asset capital, and after taking office he also passed legislation with a pro-crypto character.

That leaves two main points to watch. One is whether the delayed vote on the Clarity bill will actually take place in September. The other is whether the SEC’s discussion of a tailored issuance framework and the CFTC’s rulemaking can fill the legislative gap to some extent. Congressional legislation has been delayed, but the U.S. crypto regulatory framework is taking shape first under the administration’s lead.