Wall Street Builds Its Own Crypto Rules While Congress Stalls
Financial firms move ahead as federal crypto rules stall
After the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act on September 15, the United States remains without a comprehensive federal framework for digital assets. Rather than wait for Congress, financial firms are building their own compliance standards and infrastructure.
Two days after the legislative failure, the SEC issued an innovation exemption allowing certain trading venues to list tokenized U.S.-listed stocks on blockchain networks. Tokenization refers to representing real-world assets as digital tokens on a blockchain. However, an exemption can be narrowed or withdrawn more easily than a statute, leaving firms to plan for uncertainty.
Key numbers
- The CLARITY Act failed to advance in the Senate on September 15, 2026.
- The SEC issued its innovation exemption on September 17, 2026.
- Compliance has become one of the largest departments at Uphold, according to CFO Aravind Raju.
What industry leaders say
Adam Schumann, vice president of legal at OKX, told attendees at a Crain's New York Business event that U.S. financial firms must navigate federal statutes, federal agencies, state laws, and state regulators — none of which move at the same pace. "You want general consistency, but you're not going to reach uniformity," he said, noting that firms are working out compliance state by state and country by country.
Aravind Raju said Uphold builds tailored compliance solutions for each state's requirements, making it one of the company's largest departments. He expects those resources could be redirected once rules become clearer and more aligned across states.
Lewis Tuff, CEO of Twilight, which builds clearing and settlement technology, said the regulatory patchwork has pushed many institutions to launch private, closed networks this year for tokenized assets, stablecoins, and securities ledgers. Those networks, he said, cannot easily talk to one another.
What is confirmed
The Senate did not advance the CLARITY Act on September 15, 2026. The SEC issued an innovation exemption on September 17, 2026, permitting certain venues to trade tokenized U.S.-listed stocks onchain. Financial firms are independently building compliance departments and private blockchain networks for tokenized assets. These networks currently operate in isolation from one another.
Why this matters for advisors
For financial advisors, the main takeaway is that compliance is a real cost of doing business on crypto platforms. Firms that manage cross-state and cross-jurisdictional compliance well will likely have an edge. Advisors should understand how their platform handles these requirements before trusting it with client assets.
Sources
Newisty Editorial Team covers technology, cryptocurrency, digital products, online platforms, developer tools and the wider digital economy. Our content is researched from official sources, company announcements, public documentation, market data and other primary or reputable sources. Articles are reviewed and edited before publication for clarity, accuracy and useful context.