The crypto industry’s regulatory future doesn’t hinge entirely on Congress passing the CLARITY Act, according to Chris Perkins, CEO of 250 Digital Asset Management. As first reported by CoinTelegraph, Perkins argued that the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodities and Futures Trading Commission are already establishing functional frameworks that will sustain the sector’s development — with or without legislative intervention.
Speaking on the Chain Reaction podcast Friday, Perkins stressed that market participants have alternatives. “If not, we’re going to be just fine,” he said, pointing to the groundwork laid by SEC Chair Paul Atkins and CFTC Chair Michael Selig in recent months.
CFTC and SEC Setting Regulatory Direction
The two agencies issued a joint interpretation in March clarifying how federal securities laws apply to crypto assets — a move that signals both regulators are serious about establishing coherent rules. Perkins sees this as the foundation of genuine regulatory clarity, something the sector has lacked for years.
“These guys are creating policy and precedent every single day, and they are giving us the one thing we’ve needed for a very long time: certainty, stability, and ultimately, a taxonomy,” Perkins said. The CFTC and SEC’s willingness to define terms and draw lines matters more to daily market operations than any single piece of legislation might.
The Shift in How Securities Classification Works
The tonal change around securities classification has been dramatic. Under the Biden administration, when former SEC Chair Gary Gensler was in charge, crypto tokens designated as securities faced enforcement action, exchange delistings, and no clear compliance pathways.
Perkins highlighted that dynamic has inverted. “In the past, being a security was a death sentence. There was nowhere to go with it,” he explained. “Now it is awesome to be a security.” Projects can navigate compliance frameworks and operate within established rules rather than facing regulatory hostility.
Legislative Certainty vs. Regulatory Momentum
Still, Perkins acknowledged that if the CLARITY Act becomes law, it would cement protections in a way regulatory action alone cannot. Congressional codification would make it substantially harder for future administrations to reverse course.
“What you’ve done is you’ve essentially enshrined policy for a very long time. As hard as it is to pass a law, it is even harder to unwind a law,” he said. There’s a reason the phrase “it takes an act of Congress” exists — legislative changes carry more permanence than executive or regulatory shifts.
Momentum around the CLARITY Act has accelerated recently. On Friday, Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks released final text that resolves stablecoin yield disputes between banking and crypto industry groups. Coinbase’s chief legal officer Faryar Shirzad called the development a turning point. “It’s time to get CLARITY done,” he posted on X.
Senator Bernie Moreno signaled confidence the bill could pass by end of May, while Senator Cynthia Lummis framed the moment as pivotal: “It’s now or never.”