The Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, French Hill, reiterated his efforts to promote permanent cryptocurrency legislation in the United States, stating that regulatory action is not as effective as legislation. With only 22 legislative sessions remaining in the Senate after the November elections, he believes time is running out.

• Hill indicates that the measures taken by SEC and CFTC regarding cryptocurrencies are unable to provide a sustainable framework that Congress could establish.
• In September, the Senate prevented debate on CLARITY Act, with only 49 votes in favor of the motion compared to 60 votes against it.
• Hill still hopes that members of parliament can pass the bill during the lame-duck session after the election.
• According to the attached report, there are still a total of 7 vacant committee seats for SEC and CFTC.

In an interview on October 7th, Fox Business quoted comments from Hill. During the interview, this Republican from Arkansas stated that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have made progress in the area of digital assets, but these efforts "are still not on par" with the congressional proposals.

As the "Digital Asset Markets Clarification Act" ( Digital Asset Market Clarity Act ) stalls in the Senate, Hill calls on lawmakers to use the remaining congressional schedule to ensure permanent changes at the legal level. The preferred timeframe for him is during the lame-duck session, which is the period when Congress reconvenes after the mid-term elections in November and before the next batch of lawmakers take office in January.

"We need that kind of permanent legal change to ensure that the United States remains at the forefront in the fields of digital assets and blockchain technology."

In the interview, Hill said that he still hopes Congress can pass CLARITY during that session. He also mentioned that time is limited, pointing out that there are only 22 scheduled session days for the Senate between the elections and the arrival of the next Congress.

CLARITY The bill still requires Senate approval after a failed vote

September reports cited Senate records showing that what was at stake at the time was not whether the CLARITY debate would be initiated, but rather whether the bill would ultimately pass or not. On September 15th, the motion received 49 votes in favor and 50 votes against, with another senator absent; supporters were still 11 votes short of the required 60 votes.

According to a report by crypto.news on September 23, this failed procedural vote still leaves the way open for reconsideration, as Republican Senator Thom Tillis changed her vote from in favor to against and proposed a motion to review the results.

According to this report, the House of Representatives passed the version of H.R .3633 in July 2025 with a vote of 294 to 134, including the support of 78 Democrats. If the Senate version contains substantial modifications, it still requires consensus from both chambers before being sent to the President.

In statements after the September vote, Democratic Party negotiators said that issues related to ethical safeguards had not yet been resolved. Senator Angela Alsobrooks stated that she hoped the restrictions would apply to both the current president, future presidents, and members of Congress, while still supporting legislation on digital assets.

The Republican initiators gave a different account, stating that their draft on September 14 had incorporated 126 substantive amendments proposed by Democrats. The changes mentioned in their statement involved ethical provisions, the enforcement powers of state attorneys general, and the authority of the Treasury Department regarding the outflow of deposits related to stablecoins.

The encryption rules for SEC and CFTC are still subject to the existing permissions.

The statement made by Hill in October followed closely on the announcements by Chairman Paul Atkins of SEC and Chairman Michael Selig of CFTC, who declared that the two institutions would advance crypto regulation in accordance with the instructions of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The work related to CFTC preceded that failed Senate vote. Selig was quoted in a report on August 20 regarding its plans for crypto market regulations, stating that regardless of the outcome of the bill, the institution would proceed with work related to market structure.

According to the report, CFTC already regulates derivatives, including crypto futures, options, and swaps, and is able to take action against fraudulent and manipulative practices in spot commodity trading. However, its current authorities do not provide the same level of daily supervision over spot crypto exchanges as those granted to registered derivative platforms.

According to the proposed CLARITY framework described in the report, eligible digital commodities will generally be regulated by CFTC, while activities related to securities will still be the responsibility of SEC. The bill will establish registration requirements for certain digital commodity exchanges and other participants.

For American investors, reports in August highlighted a practical distinction in platform regulation: the regulatory agency responsible for a particular trading venue depends on the relevant products and activities. The proposed legislation will grant CFTC more authority over eligible spot digital commodity markets.

An analysis on the restrictions imposed on various institutions' crypto regulations on September 24th documented several independent regulatory steps. The explanation published by SEC on March 17th covered five categories of assets, while a proposal in August outlined exemptions for crypto issuances worth $5 million and $75 million, and it also accepted public feedback.

According to this analysis, SEC also issued a conditional exemption for tokenized stock trading on September 17th. On the same day, a CFTC crypto market measure entered the White House review process and was in the preliminary rule-making stage. The report distinguishes these actions from the legal spot market framework envisioned by CLARITY.

The lame duck session agreement depends on the dispute resolution clauses.

Former Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan made a similar judgment in a comment on September 24, stating that if both sides returned to negotiations and made concessions, it would be possible for the congressmen to reach a legislative agreement during the lame-duck session.

Ryan, a member of Shyft Policy Board, pointed out that ethics, consumer protection, illegal finance, and stablecoin incentives remain unresolved issues. He stated that despite disagreements over the terms of the bill, there is still bipartisan consensus on supporting federal crypto regulations.

Ryan believes that for American companies that have invested capital and hired employees, regulatory decisions need to remain effective even after a change of government. He says that institutional actions can help companies during congressional negotiations, but companies that make long-term investments need a more sustainable framework.

According to reports in September, Ryan also called for a consistent approach to digital assets, so that companies and consumers would not have to rely on individual lawsuits to resolve classification issues.

The schedule of Hill places these negotiations after an election that will determine which members of Congress return to Washington. Describing the 22-day window for the Senate, he noted that when members enter session, they will know whether they will continue to remain in Congress or leave their positions in January.

There are a total of 7 vacancies in the leadership positions for SEC and CFTC.

The attached report also mentioned that as of October 7th, the leadership of both financial regulatory agencies was relatively streamlined, with a total of 7 committee seats remaining vacant.

It is reported that Hester Peirce announced last week his resignation from the position of SEC, leaving Atkins and committee member Mark Uyeda as the only remaining members of the organization.

In terms of CFTC, the report states that Selig serves as both the chairperson and the sole member at the same time.