A Quiet Week in Brussels, a Decisive One in Washington

Europe offered no major regulatory developments this week. The Commission's targeted MiCA review consultation is in its final weeks, open until 30 September, and ESMA's register continues its weekly rhythm without notable movement. That stillness is worth reading correctly: MiCA is now simply in operation, and the interesting questions have moved from authorisation to review. For a current view of authorisations and white paper records across the EU, our White Paper Tracker (micacryptoalliance.com/white-paper-tracker) draws directly on ESMA's register.

The United States is the mirror image. On Monday 15 September, the Senate holds a cloture vote on the CLARITY Act, the market structure bill that would settle the division of authority between the SEC and CFTC, requiring 60 votes to proceed to floor debate. The path narrowed sharply this week: House Republican leadership cancelled the chamber's planned voting weeks of 21 and 28 September, leaving lawmakers just four working days before the midterm recess and making it extremely unlikely a reconciled bill reaches the President's desk this year. Prediction markets now price the bill's chances of becoming law in 2026 below 20%, down from above 80% in February.

Three disputes have blocked passage, and none concerns the core framework: ethics provisions addressing the President's crypto income, DeFi developer liability, and a stablecoin yield provision with significant revenue implications for exchanges. Meanwhile the agencies are positioning to fill the gap. The SEC proposed its first permanent digital-asset offering rule, Regulation Crypto Assets, on 18 August, and White House advisers have signalled the SEC and CFTC will use existing authority if Congress does not deliver. Agency rules, unlike statute, can be rewritten by the next administration, which is precisely the certainty problem the bill was meant to solve.

For European firms the contrast is the takeaway. MiCA-authorised CASPs operate today under a passportable, statutory framework; their US counterparts are watching a rulebook being contested vote by vote. Whatever Monday brings, the EU's first-mover position on market structure holds through at least another US legislative cycle.

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What to watch:

‍The Senate cloture vote on 15 September; the SEC's roundtable on 24-hour trading on 17 September; and in Europe, the MiCA review consultation closing 30 September, the Alliance's own responses to which are in final review.

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Sources:

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