The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has sent a new crypto market regulatory action to the White House for review, marking an early step toward potentially broader federal rules governing digital-asset transactions and markets.
A new Reginfo.gov regulatory review entry lists RIN 3038-AF80, titled “Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets,” as pending review under Executive Order 12866.
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs received the action on September 17, 2026, according to the filing. It is currently classified as a prerule and is not listed as economically significant.
CFTC Crypto Action Is Still at an Early Rulemaking Stage
The “prerule” designation is important because the CFTC has not yet submitted a formal proposed rule for public comment.
Reginfo defines the prerule stage as actions taken by agencies to determine whether or how to begin rulemaking. Those actions occur before a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and can include an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking or a review of existing regulations.
The filing also lists no legal deadline and identifies the action as subject to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
The Reginfo entry does not yet disclose what crypto assets, transactions, trading platforms or intermediaries the CFTC intends to cover. As a result, the filing does not establish new compliance obligations by itself.
Filing Follows CLARITY Act Failure in Senate
The timing comes just two days after the U.S. Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act in a 49–50 cloture vote.
The House-passed legislation sought to establish a statutory crypto market structure framework and give the CFTC a larger role over digital commodities. The failed procedural vote left the existing division of authority between federal regulators largely unchanged.
Following the vote, CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said the agency would continue working on crypto regulation using its existing statutory authority. Selig said Americans still need crypto market clarity despite Congress failing to advance the legislation.
The September 17 filing provides the first visible regulatory step after that statement, although the entry itself does not explicitly say it was prompted by the Senate vote.
SEC and CFTC Are Already Building Crypto Rules
The CFTC’s latest action also sits within a broader regulatory push between the derivatives regulator and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The two agencies have been working through a formal harmonization initiative intended to clarify jurisdictional boundaries, reduce overlapping requirements and develop a regulatory framework covering crypto assets and emerging market structures.
In March, the agencies also issued joint guidance clarifying how federal securities laws apply to certain crypto assets and transactions. The CFTC said at the time that the guidance complemented congressional efforts to establish a comprehensive market structure framework.
That work has become more consequential after the Senate setback. Former CFTC Chair Christopher Giancarlo expects the SEC and CFTC to continue writing crypto rules even without new market-structure legislation this year.
What Happens Next?
The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs will review the CFTC action under Executive Order 12866.
OIRA review allows the White House regulatory office to examine an agency action before it moves further through the rulemaking process. The public can also request meetings with OIRA while an action is under review.
Because RIN 3038-AF80 remains at the prerule stage, the next important development will be the release of additional CFTC documents explaining what markets and activities the agency intends to address.
For now, the filing shows that the CFTC’s broader crypto market rulemaking effort has formally entered the federal regulatory review process just days after Congress failed to advance a statutory market-structure framework.
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