SEC Chair Paul Atkins characterized the agency's newly proposed crypto framework as its "most historic step yet" toward positioning the United States as the crypto capital of the world. The announcement comes ahead of the CLARITY Act's scheduled Senate vote on September 15.
Atkins explained that the SEC's proposal is designed to complement the CLARITY Act rather than replace it. The agency plans to collect public comment on its framework and prepare to move forward with formal rules once the legislation passes Congress and reaches the president's desk.
SEC's Dual-Path Strategy
If Congress fails to act, Atkins said the SEC believes it has sufficient authority under existing law to proceed with its own rulemaking. However, he emphasized that this path would be less durable than legislation. "What we really do need is statutory grounding of this to make sure that it is sustainable, lasting into the future," Atkins said, noting that rules based solely on agency authority can be reversed by a future commission, while laws passed by Congress are more permanent.
Atkins framed the regulatory effort as a reshoring initiative, arguing that crypto innovators have spent recent years building products and raising capital offshore rather than in the United States. He emphasized the need to enable development "here in the United States under United States law."
Market Activity and Price Movements
Bitcoin is trading near $77,000, down approximately 1.3% on the day, as a global bond market selloff pressured risk assets. Bitcoin's 4-hour Bollinger Bands are compressing following its earlier move from $63,000 to above $80,000, indicating reduced volatility after the run-up. The $79,500 level remains an important resistance point for the market.
Ethereum showed mixed signals, with its wave structure suggesting a potential pullback toward the $2,100 to $2,220 range before stabilizing. XRP pulled back alongside broader market weakness.
Institutional Interest in XRP
Despite recent price pullbacks, institutional appetite for XRP appears to remain steady. U.S. spot XRP ETFs attracted approximately $105 million during the week of August 24, equivalent to about 73.2 million XRP tokens.
