# Former CFTC Commissioner Says Existing Rules Can Clarify U.S. Crypto Markets By Riza Dagoc Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/regulation/27766 Published: 2026-10-08T06:09:14.000Z Updated: 2026-10-08T06:09:14.000Z Section: Regulation > Brian Quintenz said agency rulemaking and years of legislative debate could provide a path toward clearer oversight after the CLARITY Act stalled in the Senate. Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission Commissioner Brian Quintenz said existing agency powers and years of congressional debate could still bring greater clarity to U.S. crypto markets after the CLARITY Act stalled in the Senate. Quintenz said the Securities and Exchange Commission and CFTC can use existing exemption authority to develop rules while lawmakers remain divided. He also argued that expanding activity within a legal framework could make it harder to classify an entire market segment as unlawful. The [Senate vote that stalled the CLARITY Act]() left the bill’s proposed division of responsibilities between the SEC and CFTC unresolved. The agencies have since pursued separate crypto initiatives under existing authority. Jake Chervinsky, CEO of the Hyperliquid Policy Center, said years of legislative debate had produced significant bipartisan consensus and that regulators already have enough authority to act. He said removing markets that consumers and institutions want could become politically difficult if those markets become operational over the next two years. The panel also examined Dubai’s approach to virtual-asset regulation. Deepa Raja Carbon, vice chair of Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), said the regulator had 58 licensed firms at the time of the discussion and had adjusted its rules as the market developed. VARA introduced derivatives rules in March through a minimum viable product program for institutions and qualified investors. Carbon said trading volume increased sevenfold from June through December. Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the exchange operates across regulatory regimes in Australia, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. He said Kraken is acquiring a European Union bank while following the bloc’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. Sethi said Kraken’s largest VIP customers were leaving the United Kingdom and Europe for Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong. He said regulation can protect an industry or make it unworkable, depending on whether the rules keep pace with customer demand. Chervinsky said Hyperliquid should be viewed as infrastructure rather than an exchange and that discussions with the CFTC cover moving back-office functions for U.S. futures exchanges and clearing organizations onto public blockchains. Quintenz said the CFTC chair has said the commission is examining who controls each stage of the trading process. He said technology without a controlling entity may not fit registration-centered requirements in the same way. Quintenz also said disputes over Kalshi’s regulatory status could ultimately reach the Supreme Court. He said federal jurisdiction over derivatives exchanges would not necessarily remove state authority over casinos, leaving room for a compromise. ## Links in this article - [Senate vote that stalled the CLARITY Act](https://www.tokenpost.com/news/regulation/23676)