The CFTC submitted a new crypto rulemaking package to the White House on Sept. 17, according to an Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs filing reviewed by The Defiant.

The submission, tracked as RIN 3038-AF80 and titled "Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets," sits at the prerule stage of review rather than as a proposed rule. It is the only CFTC action currently pending at OIRA, the executive-branch gatekeeper that vets regulatory text before publication.

What triggered the filing?

The rulemaking arrived two days after the Senate blocked the CLARITY Act, the market-structure bill that would have assigned clearer jurisdictional lines between the CFTC and the SEC over digital-asset trading, custody and intermediaries. With legislation stalled, the agency has shifted to the administrative process to define its authority and outline conduct standards for crypto markets.

The timing also follows months of friction between the two regulators over whether tokens, exchanges and stablecoin arrangements fall under securities, commodities or hybrid supervision. A successful CFTC rule could partially fill that vacuum, even without statutory backing.

What does "prerule" actually mean?

Under Executive Order 12866, OIRA reviews preliminary regulatory actions within 10 working days, a compressed window compared with the 90 days reserved for proposed and final rules. The earlier stage typically signals that an agency is testing scope and approach before committing to a draft text.

Prerule items carry no public-comment obligation and do not represent the commission's final policy position. They function, in practice, as an interagency sounding board for forthcoming proposals, allowing Treasury, the SEC and other components to flag conflicts before formal text is published.

Who runs the agency right now?

Michael Selig is the agency's only sitting commissioner, confirmed earlier this year. That posture constrains the volume and ambition of any rulemaking until the Senate confirms additional members and restores a working quorum for votes on publication.

Single-commissioner status does not freeze the agency. Staff can still draft, submit and negotiate with OIRA. But the formal step of issuing a proposed rule under the Commodity Exchange Act typically requires a commission vote, which the current configuration cannot deliver.

What happens next?

OIRA's 10-working-day clock would close in early October if the review proceeds on schedule. Prerule-stage items frequently advance to proposed rules within months, though the gap depends on interagency clearance and political appetite following the CLARITY defeat.

Market participants should watch for two signals:

• Whether the RIN emerges as a single joint rule or splits into separate spot-market and derivatives-market proposals.
• Whether the commission's single-member status delays formal action past the OIRA window, leaving the package in bureaucratic limbo until additional confirmations arrive.