SEC Delays Tokenization Exemption Again; CLARITY Act Talks Stall

The tokenization delay arrived in the same week the SEC canceled a Friday commissioners' meeting set to approve proposed exemptions for crypto startup fundraising, another piece of Regulation Crypto. An SEC spokesperson attributed the cancellation to an unforeseen scheduling issue and said the meeting would be "moved to a later date." The agency "remains committed to delivering on the President's agenda to bring certainty to the crypto space," the spokesperson added.

The startup exemption was designed to let early-stage crypto companies raise capital without the standard securities-offering rules, a route regulators have floated to keep token issuance onshore. It was also set to be the SEC's first formal rulemaking action under Regulation Crypto. Terrett described the cancellation as a bigger setback than a routine scheduling slip.

Terrett's reporting links both postponements to the same unresolved question in Congress, and she wrote that the back-to-back delays have fed speculation the SEC is holding its rulemaking calendar open until the CLARITY Act's direction is clear.

The CLARITY Act would create the first federal digital-asset framework, putting the SEC in charge of new token sales and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in charge of secondary trading. The Senate Banking Committee advanced its draft by a 15-9 vote in May. The House passed its version in July 2025.

Momentum has cooled since the House vote. The bill missed its planned August window, and the Senate is not expected to hold a procedural vote until Sept. 15, after recess.

Terrett reported that a vote clearing the bill's path would let the SEC move quickly on an exemption matched to the legislation. The agency has not set new dates for either item. Both now wait on the Senate's Sept. 15 procedural vote.