US Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig indicated on August 20 that if the crypto market structure bill known as the Clarity Act does not pass, the CFTC will use its existing authority to move ahead with developing its own crypto market regulations. Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the Innovation Advisory Committee in Washington, D.C., Selig said he continues to hope the bipartisan market structure bill will reach the president's desk, while revealing that he has directed CFTC staff to consider rules for crypto markets using authority under current law in case the bill stalls. The plan would examine a framework for designating existing registered entities and unregistered crypto exchanges as a type of CFTC designated contract market called a crypto asset market, aiming for a system under which leveraged and margined crypto trading could be offered under certain dedicated rules subject to CFTC oversight. He also directed staff to work with on-chain finance protocol developers on designing a framework that would allow protocols to be offered in the United States while complying with the law. In his remarks, he also touched on Project Crypto, a joint effort by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the CFTC, and explained that on August 18 the SEC proposed a rule called Regulation Crypto Assets that includes exemptions from securities registration requirements for certain crypto-related transactions.
ECB President Personally Intervened to Block Binance's MiCA Approval, WSJ Reports
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde personally intervened to stop crypto exchange Binance from obtaining authorization within the European Union, the Wall Street Journal reported on September 18. Binance had applied for authorization under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, MiCA, through the Hellenic Capital Market Commission, but withdrew its application on June 24 and indicated it would seek approval in another EU member state. MiCA's transition period ended on July 1, and unauthorized operators are in principle required to stop accepting or soliciting new customers, yet as of September 4 Binance remained unauthorized while continuing to serve some EU customers, citing the reverse solicitation exemption. According to the WSJ report, Greek authorities told Binance by late May that the application process was complete, and the company, expecting approval, was preparing an announcement, but officials later said Lagarde intended to hold off on a decision until a reform transferring authority over crypto firm licensing to the European Securities and Markets Authority is realized. Approval in Greece was seen as important because it would open access to the entire EU market through MiCA Article 65's EU passporting regime, and although licensing decisions rest with each member state's competent authority and the ECB has no formal power, Lagarde was reportedly concerned that Binance's EU expansion would spread the use of dollar-denominated stablecoins and hinder adoption of the digital euro and euro-denominated payment methods.
Bitcoin Tops $81,000 as Short Squeeze Offsets Rate and Regulatory Pressure
Bitcoin surged above $81,000 on Saturday as a wave of short liquidations and renewed spot demand helped the cryptocurrency rebound from losses triggered by higher interest rates and a setback for U.S. crypto legislation. Bitcoin climbed as high as $81,702 on Sept. 18 after trading near $76,400 a day earlier, marking its first move above $80,000 since Sept. 7, and was trading at $81,309.4 as of 22:50 ET, up 5.62% for the day. The rebound followed a difficult week in which the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points and the Bank of Japan followed with a quarter-point increase to 1.25%, its highest policy rate in 31 years, while U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $159 million of inflows on Sept. 17. A sharp short squeeze then accelerated Friday's rally, with roughly $192 million of leveraged crypto positions liquidated within one hour, including more than $183 million in shorts, of which Bitcoin shorts accounted for about $119 million. Regulatory uncertainty remains in focus after the U.S. Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act this week, though the CFTC has submitted a separate crypto market proposal to the White House Office of Management and Budget and the SEC introduced an innovation exemption giving qualifying platforms a five-year route to offer onchain trading in certain tokenized stocks without registering as securities exchanges.
SEC Unveils Trading Framework for Tokenized Stocks, S&P Acquires OpenZeppelin, DeFi Market Cap Hits $80 Billion
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission introduced a provisional, conditional exemption allowing certain tokenized U.S.-listed equities to trade on-chain under specified conditions, while S&P Global agreed to acquire OpenZeppelin, a firm specializing in smart contract security infrastructure. The SEC measure, set out in a "Statement on Innovation Exemptions" signed by Commissioner Mark T. Ueda, guarantees holders of equity tokens the same rights as holders of conventional shares and requires third parties to notify the issuer of the underlying stock in writing before dealing in tokenized shares. According to S&P Global, OpenZeppelin's technology has supported the transfer of more than $37 trillion in value cumulatively, including major stablecoins and tokenized funds. Following these announcements, the market capitalization of DeFi-related tokens rose about $7 billion on Friday, climbing 8.8% to $79.8 billion, while the total market capitalization of the broader crypto market rose 4% to $2.7 trillion. Hyperliquid's HYPE jumped 10.8% to an all-time high of about $90.46, giving it a market capitalization of $20.12 billion; Uniswap's UNI rose 29.1% over 24 hours to about $9.00, for a market capitalization of $5.59 billion; and Aave's AAVE gained 9.5% to about $135.28. Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said the SEC is trying to put in place as much of a crypto regulatory framework as it can under its existing authority, and described tokenization as a massive tide.
