United States — crypto regulation

Status: partial · Last reviewed 2026-11-05

Federal crypto policy has moved from enforcement to rulemaking, but market-structure legislation has stalled. The GENIUS Act (stablecoins) takes effect 18 Jan 2027; the OCC finalised its implementing rule in Oct 2026, while Fed, FDIC and FinCEN/OFAC rules are still proposals. The Senate CLARITY Act failed a 49-50 cloture vote in Sep 2026, and Democrats won both chambers in the Nov 2026 midterms, so passage in the next Congress looks unlikely. The SEC and CFTC are filling the gap: a Mar 2026 token taxonomy, the proposed 'Regulation Crypto Assets' exemptions and safe harbor, an 'innovation exemption' for tokenised stocks, custody proposals and a CFTC rulemaking on retail crypto markets. Spot ETFs now cover altcoins such as SOL, XRP, HYPE and BNB, some with staking. The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve still rests on a 2025 executive order.

Legislation

• State Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Laws — Texas SB 21, New Hampshire HB 302, Arizona HB 2749 (2025)
• California Digital Financial Assets Law (DFAL) — Licensing in Force (2026)
• Federal Reserve & FDIC GENIUS Act Rules for Stablecoin Issuers (Proposed) (2026)
• OCC Final Rule — GENIUS Act Payment Stablecoin Issuers (2026)
• SEC "Regulation Crypto Assets" — Offering Exemptions & Investment Contract Safe Harbor (Proposed) (2026)
• SEC Interpretive Release — Crypto Asset Taxonomy (Rel. 33-11412) (2026)
• SEC "Innovation Exemption" — On-Chain Trading of Tokenised NMS Stock (2026)
• SEC Crypto Custody Proposal — Investment Advisers & Funds (2026)
• CFTC ANPRM — Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions & Crypto Asset Markets (2026)
• CFTC Policy Statement on Perpetual Contracts & BTCPERP Approval (2026)
• Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 10357) (2026)
• American Reserve Modernization Act (H.R. 8957) — Codifying the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (2026)
• Federal Reserve "Payment Account" Proposal & Fintech Executive Order (2026)
• NYDFS Proposed Stablecoin Regulation (2026)
• GENIUS Act — Federal Stablecoin Framework (2025)
• CLARITY Act — SEC/CFTC Jurisdiction (Stalled in Senate) (2026)
• FIT21 — Financial Innovation and Technology Act (2024)
• Executive Order — Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (2025)
• Executive Order — Digital Financial Technology Leadership (2025)
• Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — Broker Reporting (2021)
• State Frameworks: Wyoming DAO Laws & NY BitLicense (2015)
• GENIUS Act — FinCEN/OFAC AML & Sanctions Rules (Proposed) (2026)
• PARITY Act — Digital Asset Tax Reform (Reintroduced) (2026)