Who Regulates AI Tokens Now? The SEC, the CFTC and the Stalled CLARITY Act

Who regulates AI tokens in late 2026 depends on what a token is and how it's sold, because Congress hasn't passed a market-structure law. The CLARITY Act stalled when a Senate cloture vote failed 49–50 on September 15, 2026. Until Congress acts, the SEC and CFTC are working from a March 2026 interpretation that sorts crypto assets into five categories. The SEC covers securities; the CFTC covers commodity derivatives and can bring enforcement cases in spot markets.

Key takeaways

• The CLARITY Act passed the House 294–134 on July 17, 2025. On September 15, 2026, a Senate vote to advance it got 49 votes, short of the 60 needed.
• The SEC's March 17, 2026 interpretation, joined by the CFTC, says digital commodities, digital collectibles and digital tools aren't securities themselves, though any of them can be sold under an investment contract, which is.
• None of the 18 tokens the release names as digital commodities is an AI token on our tracker, so AI tokens are judged case by case.
• Two proposals are pending: the SEC's Regulation Crypto Assets, whose comment period closed October 20, and a CFTC advance notice on retail crypto trading, open for comment into December.

Why is there no single answer yet?

The CLARITY Act (H.R. 3633) would set up a system for regulating the offer and sale of digital commodities, with roles for both the SEC and the CFTC. The House passed it 294–134 on July 17, 2025. On September 15, 2026, the Senate voted on cloture on the motion to proceed, the step that ends debate so the chamber can take up a bill. It drew 49 votes in favor and 50 against, with three-fifths required.

Bills not enacted in the current Congress generally have to be reintroduced when the next one begins in January 2027, DLA Piper notes. Meanwhile the agencies work within existing law. Since January 29, 2026, they have run Project Crypto, their effort to align crypto oversight, as a joint initiative.

What did the SEC and CFTC decide in March 2026?

On March 17, 2026, the SEC issued an interpretation of how the securities laws apply to crypto assets, and the CFTC joined it with guidance that it will administer the Commodity Exchange Act consistently with the SEC's view. The release sorts crypto assets into five categories:

• Digital commodities: tokens whose value comes from the programmatic operation of a working crypto system and from supply and demand, not from the managerial efforts of others. The release lists 16 examples, including bitcoin, ether, Solana, XRP and Chainlink, plus Algorand and LBRY Credits in a footnote.
• Digital collectibles: artwork, music, in-game items and meme coins, among others.
• Digital tools: memberships, tickets, credentials and similar tokens, such as Ethereum Name Service domains.
• Stablecoins: which may or may not be securities, depending on their features.
• Digital securities: tokenized securities, which are securities.

The first three are not securities themselves, and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said "most crypto assets are not themselves securities." The release adds a caveat that matters for every new token: a non-security crypto asset can still be offered and sold subject to an investment contract, which is a security. It also addresses airdrops, protocol mining, protocol staking and wrapping. Our explainer on the Howey test covers how investment contracts are judged.

Where do AI tokens fit?

None of the 18 tokens the release names is an AI token we track, so the release doesn't settle any AI token's status. Its definitions still give a useful map:

• Network tokens. The release ties digital commodities to a "functional" crypto system, one whose native token can actually be used on it as designed.
• Promises from a team. When an issuer sells a token with promises of essential managerial efforts, such as building features or hitting roadmap milestones, the release says the token stays subject to an investment contract until those promises are fulfilled or clearly abandoned.
• Income rights. Digital commodities, collectibles and tools don't carry rights such as a passive yield or a claim on a business's income, profits or assets. A token that pays holders a share of revenue falls outside those three descriptions.
• Meme coins. The release treats meme coins as an example of digital collectibles: typically bought for entertainment, social or cultural reasons, with value driven by supply and demand rather than anyone's managerial efforts.

Applying these to a specific token is a legal question, and the answer can change as a project matures.

What is the SEC proposing next?

On August 18, 2026, the SEC proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, a tailored offering regime for investment contracts involving crypto assets. It would add:

• a one-time exemption for offerings of up to $5 million over four years;
• an exemption for up to $75 million in each 12-month period, with financial statements and ongoing reporting;
• a conditional safe harbor that would apply, Atkins said, once an issuer has completed or permanently stopped the essential managerial efforts it promised;
• preemption of state registration requirements for offers and sales under the exemptions and for certain secondary-market trades.

Comments were due October 20, 2026. It remains a proposal until the SEC adopts a final rule.

What does the CFTC oversee?

The CFTC has full regulatory and enforcement authority over derivatives that use digital commodities as their underlying assets, such as futures and options, and enforcement authority over fraud and manipulation in spot digital commodity markets. The March release adds that any non-security crypto asset, other than a payment stablecoin from a permitted issuer, could meet the definition of a commodity under the Commodity Exchange Act.

On October 5, 2026, the CFTC announced an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on retail commodity transactions in crypto assets, including a proposed "crypto asset market" category of designated contract market. It was published in the Federal Register on October 13, with comments due within 60 days. Chairman Michael Selig described the goal as bringing crypto asset transactions under a uniform national market framework.

How can you check who oversees a platform?

The CFTC's registration checklist points investors to these records before trading:

• NFA BASIC for firms registered with the CFTC, including disciplinary history.
• FINRA BrokerCheck for broker-dealers, and the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure for advisers.
• SEC Action Lookup for people and firms the SEC has charged.
• FinCEN's money services business registrant search and NMLS, the states' licensing system, for spot crypto trading.
• NASAA's directory of state securities regulators.

For a token itself, read what rights it carries in the project's own documents, and check whether the issuer has made filings with the SEC. Our guide to MiCA and global crypto regulation covers how rules differ outside the U.S.

What the AI Score shows

The AI Score does not measure a token's legal or regulatory status. It is one number from 0 to 100 for every AI token we track, recalculated every 30 minutes from public market data and public code activity, built on five questions: Is anyone building it? Can I get in and out? Will unlocks dilute me? How badly could this hurt? Is the market agreeing? For legal status, use the records above.

Check any token's AI Score on AiTokens.app before you decide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are AI tokens securities? There's no blanket answer. Under the SEC's March 2026 interpretation, digital commodities, collectibles and tools aren't securities themselves, but a non-security token can be sold under an investment contract, which is a security. The release names no AI tokens.

What happened to the CLARITY Act? The House passed it on July 17, 2025. On September 15, 2026, a Senate vote to advance it failed 49–50, short of the 60 needed. As of mid-October 2026, no new vote had been reported.

Does the CFTC regulate crypto exchanges? It oversees exchanges that list crypto futures and other derivatives, and it can bring enforcement cases in spot markets. For spot trading platforms, its checklist points to FinCEN and state licensing records.

Does the SEC's 2026 proposal change anything yet? Not yet. Regulation Crypto Assets is a proposal; comments closed October 20, 2026, and none of it applies until the SEC adopts a final rule.

Sources

• U.S. Senate: Roll Call Vote 234, 119th Congress, 2nd Session, September 15, 2026
• Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives: Roll Call 199, H.R. 3633, July 17, 2025
• SEC and CFTC: Application of the Federal Securities Laws to Certain Types of Crypto Assets and Certain Transactions Involving Crypto Assets, Release 33-11412, March 17, 2026
• SEC: SEC Clarifies Application of Federal Securities Laws to Crypto Assets, Press Release 2026-30, March 17, 2026
• SEC: SEC Proposes New Regulation Crypto Assets, Press Release 2026-76, August 18, 2026
• CFTC: CFTC Seeks Public Comment on Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Relating to Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets, Release 9307-26, October 5, 2026
• SEC, Paul S. Atkins: Opening Remarks at Joint SEC-CFTC Harmonization Event – Project Crypto, January 29, 2026
• DLA Piper: Senate fails to advance the CLARITY Act: Top points, September 22, 2026

This article explains general rules and is not legal advice.

This article is for educational purposes and is not financial advice.