Week 39, September 14–20, 2026 The bill that two parties spent two years drafting failed to secure enough votes in the Senate. Market rules remain with the agencies that the bill was meant to define. Regulation is now being shaped through commission approvals and separate committee bills. The failure of the framework bill handed the market over to the agencies. On September 16, the Senate did not advance the Clarity Act. Republicans introduced 126 amendments, but Democrats demanded that officials sell cryptoassets instead of placing them into the specified trust funds. The odds of passage in 2026 on Polymarket fell from 35% to 5%. On September 18, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) temporarily allowed trading in tokenized U.S. stocks. That same day, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) allowed crypto software providers to operate without a broker-dealer license. Separate crypto bills are moving through committees. On September 17, the House Ways and Means Committee approved a crypto tax reform. The bill exempts payments of fees up to $10 from capital gains reporting. The Financial Services Committee approved a bill that would turn the 2025 executive order on a strategic bitcoin reserve into law. The bill would require the U.S. Treasury to buy BTC in a budget-neutral way (which implies new revenue sources for such purchases) and hold the coins for at least 20 years. The U.S. reserve stands at 328,400 BTC ($25.3 billion), or 1.6% of supply. Crypto settlements for sanctioned oil have moved into the courts. On September 15, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a forfeiture complaint over $61 million from the sale of Iranian oil through Binance. According to the DOJ, Chinese Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale handled conversions for buyers, and $1.5 billion in oil proceeds moved through addresses linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. On September 18, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned the Iranian exchange BitBank, its developer, and three associates of financier Babak Zanjani. Europe and Britain are moving faster than the U.S. On September 17, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published guidance on authorizing stablecoin issuers. Applications open on September 30, and the transitional regime begins on October 25, 2027. The EU rules that have entered into force require wallet developers to report vulnerabilities within 24 hours, under a fine of up to 15 million euros ($17.5 million) or 2.5% of annual turnover. On September 14, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) said large prediction markets do not have permission to operate in the EU.