U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig said the crypto industry will eventually get market structure rules even if Congress fails to pass the Clarity Act. Speaking to Bloomberg Television ahead of the CFTC’s first Innovation Advisory Committee meeting, Selig said building market structure is essential and can be done either through rulemaking or through legislation. He said the agency is weighing a range of possible crypto rules while waiting to see what happens with the Clarity Act, a bill that would give the CFTC primary authority over the digital asset industry. The legislation is currently stalled in the Senate, which is planning a procedural vote in mid-September. Major disputes remain, however, and those could make it difficult for the bill to secure enough support before lawmakers shift their focus to the November midterm elections. Selig added that legislation remains the most reliable way to lock in crypto market structure, but he said the CFTC already has substantial authority under existing rules and would use that authority to write regulations if needed.

Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego said pushing the CLARITY Act to a Senate vote before key disputes are resolved could undermine broader US crypto market structure legislation. Speaking at the SALT Wyoming Blockchain Symposium on Wednesday, he urged the crypto industry to support continued negotiations between Senate Democrats and Republicans instead of pressing for an immediate vote. Gallego said lawmakers still need to deal with the Agriculture Committee portion of the bill, assemble the wider legislative package, and decide how it should move to the House. He also said he and Republican Senator Thom Tillis sent compromise ethics language to the White House before the congressional recess but have not received point-by-point feedback. According to Gallego, strong enough ethics restrictions are needed to win Democratic backing. His comments add friction to the Trump administration’s push for faster passage. Trump called on Congress on Wednesday to pass a “fair version” of the bill, while Senate leaders have already delayed action until September. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on Aug. 7 that the chamber was “punting” the vote and would take up CLARITY “first thing” after lawmakers return from recess. White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt has said talks with Democrats will continue until the September vote, but not indefinitely.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting on Aug. 14 at 10 a.m. ET to consider whether to propose a new rule that would let certain crypto projects raise capital without registering securities. According to a Sunshine Act notice posted Aug. 10, the agency will review a release outlining a tailored framework for some digital-asset offerings. If the proposal is opened for public comment, it would mark the SEC’s first durable rule for the crypto sector rather than another nonbinding staff statement. The effort follows months of work under SEC Chair Paul Atkins, who has backed a “Regulation Crypto Assets” approach centered on exemptions instead of enforcement. In prior remarks, Atkins described a startup exemption that could last up to four years, giving developers time to move toward decentralization. The proposed framework is also expected to include an off-ramp from SEC jurisdiction once founders are no longer actively managing their projects. The move comes after the Senate left for its August recess without advancing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act.

A Taiwanese lawmaker said there is a "100% possibility" that Taiwan will establish a strategic bitcoin reserve. The legislator argued bitcoin differs from gold in its digital transfer and verification features, adding that "the world has changed" as nations race to build bitcoin positions for national security reasons, with some moving ahead of the United States.

Patrick Witt took to X to state that the U.S. government remains committed to seeing the CLARITY Act pass in September. In his view, only legislation can establish durable rules for the digital asset sector, and the need for such rules is greater now than ever before. He directed criticism at Democrats, saying that each delay of the bill sets America further behind in the cryptocurrency race, eroding its position as a global financial market leader, weakening national security, and taking away the tools law enforcement needs to fight crypto-related crime. Witt described the CLARITY Act as the outcome of years of real bipartisan work, and reiterated that Democrats still have an opportunity to shape U.S. digital asset policy by assisting with its passage. He also stated that the government will maintain an open stance and keep engaging in good-faith negotiations right up to the September vote.

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has sent letters to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, urging the leading artificial intelligence companies to pause AI development. In the letters, Sanders warns that if the enterprises do not act voluntarily, lawmakers will be forced to step in. He argues that development of machines beyond human control should be halted in order to protect human interests. Sanders also points to earlier statements from the three firms, which had said they would stop or suspend development if system risks could not be safely managed. According to an Axios report, researchers have recently used AI to develop new viruses, while Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic have disclosed cases of models behaving in an 'out-of-control' manner, adding to the public's concerns. Despite this, AI legislation championed by Sanders is unlikely to pass in the current session of Congress. PANews reported this on August 10, citing Axios.

Patrick Witt, a White House crypto adviser, said in an X post that Senate negotiations on the CLARITY Act have stalled after Chuck Schumer and so-called pro-crypto Democrats blocked a procedural vote. He warned that the bill's chances of passing would drop sharply if it fails to advance by Sept. 15.

White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt said momentum behind U.S. crypto market structure legislation could fade sharply if the CLARITY Act does not advance by Sept. 15. In a post on X, Witt said Congress has been working on crypto market structure rules for years and that the Senate has been in talks over the bill since last summer. He also said that over the past week, Chuck Schumer and what he described as “pro-crypto Democrats” blocked a procedural vote before recess and pushed for another delay. Witt’s warning points to a narrowing window for the legislation as lawmakers head deeper into the current calendar. His comments did not provide additional details on what form the next step would take, but framed Sept. 15 as a key deadline for keeping the bill’s chances alive.