You who enter, abandon all hope. Late in the afternoon this Wednesday, September 16, the SEC's X account posted a “Stay tuned” quoting its president Paul Atkins. The message turned a few heads. The tease comes the day after the failure of the CLARITY Act in the US Senate and a few hours before a rate increase that the market had widely anticipated, but whose accompanying projections are enough to calm the enthusiasm. Two calendars, one market to cash them in.
The SEC draws its plan B, with or without Congress
The SEC institutional tweet (@SECGov) which launched today's teaser actually only quotes Paul Atkins himself, who had posted the original message a few hours earlier on his own account. Faithful translation:
“Thank you to all those who have been so invested in the CLARITY Act, within the Administration, in Congress, among investors and among innovators. Our collective belief that America must continue to lead the way is essential. “With or without legislation, we will act” resolutely, within the legal authority of the SEC, to provide certainty to American investors. Stay tuned. »
Paul Atkins (@SECPaulSAtkins), on X, September 16, 2026
The SEC’s “Stay tuned” is therefore just an echo. Atkins had already slipped it himself into the bottom line of his own message. Basically, the formula is not new. Atkins already detailed three priority projects: modernizing the regulation of digital securities, dusting off forty-year-old transfer agent rules and letting financial advisors self-custody their cryptos.
The first project has already left the stage of promise. Since August 18, the SEC has been working on a proposal called Regulation Crypto Assets: an exemption from registration limited to 5 million dollars over four years and another extended to 75 million per year with a little more reporting. A complementary mechanism would even allow a token to exit the status of an investment contract once the work of the founding team is completed. The public consultation is still ongoing, so nothing is official in this “Stay tuned”. But the Senate rejected the CLARITY Act, 49 votes for and 50 against, far short of the 60 votes needed to lift the filibuster. There were 11 votes missing. The SEC does not give the impression of wanting to wait for a second legislative chance.
The Fed is not in the business of teasing
While Washington was distilling its suspense over X, the American central bank acted bluntly. This Wednesday at 8 p.m. (Paris time), the Fed's monetary policy committee raised its key rates by 25 basis points to bring them to 3.75%-4.00%, a first increase since 2023. The market had seen it coming: the CME FedWatch tool gave more than 90% probability to this scenario even before the announcement. What weighs more are the committee's new projections.
According to the Summary of Economic Projections published the same day, median PCE inflation is expected at 3.7% over the whole of 2026 (3.4% for the core index), and the key rate would rise to 4.1% by the end of the year. One step higher than the level just voted on. In other words, the Fed is not ruling out putting the cover back in December.
The reaction is not long in coming. Three hours before the announcement, bitcoin was still trading around $76,200. Spot bitcoin ETFs are already showing $450.4 million in net outflows on September 15, the direct day after the failure of the CLARITY Act, according to Farside Investors data, a figure that adds to the $463 million already gone the week of September 8 to 11. The market is stuck between $76,000 and $83,000, with no clear direction.
A bitcoin torn between two tempos
On the one hand, an administration which multiplies the signals of regulatory opening to the point of letting the mystery hover on a nervous market evening. On the other, a central bank which reminded us that monetary policy cannot be controlled by tweets. The two files are not progressing at the same pace: the Crypto Assets Regulation is counted in weeks of public consultation. The rise in rates produces its effects as soon as the markets open the next day.
Betting on a rebound because the SEC gave a nod to the networks costs nothing. But the failure of the CLARITY Act this week has already shown how quickly Washington's promises clash with the real political agenda. That of the Fed comes on the dot.
