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The Securities and Exchange Commission delayed its release of a regulatory framework for certain digital assets following White House officials’ concerns that a separate but related rule could bog down cryptocurrency legislation, people familiar with the process told Semafor.
The SEC was set to consider both proposals at a Friday meeting before confusion over which rule it planned to advance led to a cancellation, the people said.
Only the framework, not the second proposal, known as the innovation exemption, was set for approval; commissioners later voted on the framework individually, said an SEC spokesperson, who last week attributed the cancellation to “an unforeseen scheduling issue.”
A separate person familiar disputed that the crypto bill played any role, saying “the regulations were still technically under review.”
Trump will host crypto executives at the White House on Wednesday as that measure, which would enshrine the current SEC’s approach, languishes in the Senate.
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A White House official told Semafor that prediction markets like Kalshi, initially expected to attend the kick-off event for the CFTC Innovation Advisory Committee’s inaugural meeting, would not be included after all. Another person familiar with the event said that organizers had wound up deciding to focus it solely on crypto.
The call comes weeks after the White House suspended its teleprompter operator over allegations he’d used Kalshi to bet on Trump’s speeches.
“Bad optics to have the prediction markets sitting in the room in the aftermath of the teleprompter problem,” a person familiar with the event said, adding that it “would be a big distraction from larger tech and crypto agenda.”
CFTC Chair Mike Selig, SEC Chair Paul Atkins, and top crypto adviser Patrick Witt are expected to join representatives from firms like Coinbase, Kraken, Ripple, Chainlink, Andreessen Horowitz, Paradigm, Nasdaq, and Intercontinental Exchange at the meeting, the people said. Other anticipated attendees include trade associations like the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation, and the Blockchain Association.
One IAC member not on the list: CME Group, which is suing the CFTC.