Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan says the SEC could propose Regulation Crypto on Aug. 14, opening a faster path to clarity for digital assets while Congress is in recess.
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The SEC has scheduled an open meeting for Aug. 14 to consider proposing a framework for certain digital-asset offerings. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said the agency could move ahead with rules even while the CLARITY Act remains stuck in Congress, giving the industry a faster route to regulatory clarity.
Hougan described the approach as a “bypass road” around the CLARITY Act. He argued that Congress needs legislation for the CLARITY Act, while the SEC can use its existing authority to create rules and exemptions. The proposed framework, he said, could give new crypto projects a path to raise capital without immediately triggering full securities registration, followed by a transition toward more decentralized networks.
The idea dates to the 2018 ICO era, when projects struggled to raise funds while navigating securities laws. Hougan said clearer rules could unleash a new wave of innovation. “There could be a million flowers that bloom,” he said.
Friday’s action would start the process, not finish it. A proposal would still go through public comments and further regulatory steps before becoming final.
A second possibility is progress on an innovation exemption for tokenized securities. The SEC is considering ways to make digital versions of traditional securities easier to issue and trade on blockchain networks. That could eventually support 24/7 trading of tokenized stocks and bring parts of traditional equity markets onto blockchain infrastructure. The push fits into Chairman Paul Atkins’ Project Crypto agenda, which has focused on rulemaking and clearer classifications, the SEC has said.
The SEC is also coordinating with the CFTC on how different crypto assets should be classified. A March framework identified BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, ADA, LINK, AVAX, DOT, HBAR, LTC, DOGE, SHIB, XTZ, BCH, APT and XLM as digital commodities. A potential SEC proposal would not automatically add more tokens to that list, but could create clearer paths for ETFs, staking products and structured products involving assets already treated as commodities.
Even if the SEC acts this week, the CLARITY Act would not become irrelevant. The bill has passed the House and cleared the Senate Banking Committee, but lawmakers left Washington for the August recess without a Senate floor vote. The legislative process is expected to resume around September, while disagreements over DeFi, ethics provisions and stablecoin yield remain. That creates a possible two-track approach: SEC rules provide a faster framework, while Congress works toward permanent legislation.
SEC rules would not be as permanent as legislation and could still face legal challenges. Hougan said Friday’s proposal would not replace the CLARITY Act, calling the rulemaking a “bypass road” around legislative delays.
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