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U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent: Treasury can work with the SEC and CFTC to fill the regulatory gap after the Clarity Act’s failure

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at the Ripple Swell conference on October 27, 2026, that it was disappointing that Congress failed to pass the Clarity Act (the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, H.R. 3633), but that the Treasury has “a lot of convening powers” and can work with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to advance a crypto regulatory framework through regulatory agency action. He called the SEC and CFTC “great partners.”

The Clarity Act aims to establish a federal digital asset market structure framework, delineate the SEC’s and CFTC’s regulatory jurisdictions over digital assets, and set registration requirements for exchanges, brokers and others. The bill had previously passed the House, but in a Senate procedural vote on September 15, 2026, it failed to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to advance, with 49 votes in favor and 50 against. All Democratic lawmakers and some Republican lawmakers voted against it, and the bill therefore failed to enter the formal debate stage. Bessent said the bill would have helped prevent a repeat of debanking, meaning financial institutions cutting off services to crypto businesses, but that the related risks could still be reduced by establishing regulatory best practices and safeguards. He also pointed out that stablecoins will expand demand for the U.S. dollar and U.S. Treasuries and become an important source of financing for the Treasury.

Bessent’s remarks came about six weeks after the Clarity Act’s failure. Previously, SEC Chair Paul Atkins and CFTC Chair Michael Selig had each said that they would advance crypto-related rulemaking within their existing statutory authority without waiting for legislation. Bessent’s speech this time emphasized the Treasury’s coordinating role, but he did not disclose a specific timetable for joint rulemaking, details on jurisdictional division, or any new plan to restart legislation. A framework formed through regulatory rulemaking differs in stability from a framework established by legislation.

Original sources:

  1. Title: Scott Bessent puts crypto alongside AI and chips in U.S.-China tech race at Ripple conference Publisher: CoinDesk (Krisztian Sandor, editor Nikhilesh De) Publication date: 2026-10-27 URL: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/10/27/treasury-s-bessent-sees-crypto-as-america-s-next-tool-for-keeping-the-u-s-dollar-on-top Nature of source: media report Verification status: This reading covered the article title, summary, and key reporting passages, verified on 2026-10-27 Supporting content: Bessent’s remarks at the Ripple Swell conference; the phrase “a lot of convening powers” and calling the SEC and CFTC “great partners”; his disappointment over the Clarity Act’s failure; related remarks on debanking and stablecoin demand

  2. Title: ‘The bill is dead’: Crypto legislation collapses on Senate floor Publisher: POLITICO (Jasper Goodman) Publication date: 2026-09-15 URL: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/15/crypto-bill-collapses-on-senate-floor-01077617 Nature of source: media report Verification status: Main reporting content read in this session, verified on 2026-10-27 Supporting content: The September 15, 2026 Senate procedural vote result of 49-50; the bill failed to reach the 60-vote threshold; the background of unanimous Democratic opposition and some Republican opposition. Does not prove the specific content of Bessent’s remarks this time

ABAB AI Insight

As U.S. Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent has continued to push crypto-related legislation after taking office in 2025. He publicly urged the Senate in early September 2026 to advance the Clarity Act, and on social media emphasized the bill’s importance to the United States’ leading position in digital assets. His remarks at the Ripple Swell conference marked a public shift from a legislative path to an administrative coordination path after the bill’s procedural failure on September 15.

On the capital and business path, the Treasury itself does not directly write securities or commodity rules, but its convening power can be used to coordinate the SEC’s and CFTC’s rulemaking pace, promote cross-agency guidance, or exert influence in the overlapping area of stablecoin and banking regulation. The previously passed GENIUS Act established a framework for payment stablecoins, and Bessent has repeatedly put it alongside the Clarity Act, viewing the two as complementary measures for U.S. digital asset infrastructure. This speech did not involve new appropriations, agency restructuring, or a specific draft rule, but instead emphasized the room for cooperation among existing agencies.

Compared with remarks by SEC Chair Paul Atkins and CFTC Chair Michael Selig before and after the bill’s failure in September 2026, all three pointed toward relying on existing statutory authority to advance rules when legislation is absent. The similarity is that all acknowledged the need for regulators to fill the gap after the Clarity Act failed; the difference is that Bessent intervened in his capacity as a Treasury coordinator rather than speaking solely as the head of a single regulator. The SEC and CFTC have each been advancing related requests for comment or exemption arrangements, but a unified cross-agency framework still depends on subsequent coordination outcomes.

This statement lowers market expectations for “no regulatory progress at all” while making clear that, given the low probability of legislation restarting before the midterm elections, rulemaking will rely more heavily on administrative channels. What changes is the industry’s expectation of where short-term regulatory certainty will come from — from legislative text to agency rules and guidance. Because administrative rules can be adjusted with changes in leadership or judicial review, their durability is weaker than that of statute. The key point to watch is whether the SEC and CFTC will later issue a joint statement, coordinate jurisdictional boundaries, or provide more operational standards for specific asset classifications.

ABAB News · Cognitive Law

  1. After the legislative path is blocked, the Treasury can turn to coordinating the SEC and CFTC to fill the gap through administrative action.

  2. Regulatory agency rules can provide short-term clarity, but they lack the durability of legislation and may be adjusted with personnel or judicial changes.

  3. Expansion in stablecoin demand and market structure rules are advancing in parallel; the former already has the support of the GENIUS Act, while the latter still depends on agency coordination.