SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said U.S. crypto reform can continue even if Congress fails to complete the CLARITY Act, keeping regulatory progress alive while lawmakers remain divided over the bill’s final shape.
Peirce said she is “still optimistic that the bill will get finished,” arguing that legislation could simplify oversight by defining which agencies control different parts of the digital asset market. The proposal is intended to establish clearer jurisdiction over crypto spot markets and reduce uncertainty for platforms that handle both securities and non-security digital assets.
That mixed-asset question remains one of the clearest gaps in the current framework. When a platform facilitates a transaction involving both categories, uncertainty remains over how far the Securities and Exchange Commission’s authority extends beyond the security portion of the trade.
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Peirce said the SEC could still take meaningful action if the bill stalls. The agency can clarify how existing securities laws apply to token offerings, crypto intermediaries and blockchain-based securities, while using interpretations, formal rules, exemptions and guidance to reduce uncertainty inside its existing mandate.
The CLARITY Act would go further by creating permanent boundaries between the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission. KuCoin’s analysis noted that congressional action would still be needed for broader questions involving digital commodity spot markets, cross-agency oversight and a national framework for platforms operating across multiple regulatory categories.
The bill has advanced, but disagreements over stablecoin rewards, decentralized finance and political ethics continue to complicate its path through the Senate. That leaves the industry facing a partial-reform scenario in which the SEC can improve securities-related rules without resolving the full market structure.
Peirce also urged crypto builders to spend less time fixating on regulatory ambiguity and more time creating useful products.
“Build things that people want and need,” she said.
Her message was straightforward: Congress may still deliver the broader framework, but the SEC does not have to stand still while lawmakers negotiate.
