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1inch lawyer sees agencies driving US crypto regulation as midterms unfold
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US midterm elections put control of Congress at stake, but crypto regulation may not wait for lawmakers. Maylea Ma, deputy general counsel at 1inch, said federal agencies will shape the next phase of digital-asset policy. Her comments came as voters headed to the polls and the CLARITY Act remained stalled.
Ma expects movement over the next few years to come from the SEC, CFTC and Treasury rather than Congress. She said agencies are engaging more with crypto projects. That engagement, however, does not give the industry the stability it sought through legislation.
"The long-term goal, of course, remains a statute that cannot be reversed every time a government changes," Ma said. The stalled CLARITY Act could be reshaped by election results. Yet Ma argued agency action will remain the main driver regardless.
Michael Ho, co-founder of D3, the team behind Doma Protocol, said uncertainty matters to institutional investors. With the market structure bill stalled, US crypto policy rests on agency guidance that a future administration can reverse, he said. That keeps capital waiting.
Ho added that clear rules written into law are what will bring institutional capital into tokenized real-world assets. The comment underscores industry concerns that guidance alone may not satisfy large investors. It highlights how election uncertainty can delay deployment of capital.
Regulators have moved. In August, the SEC proposed a framework for crypto fundraising, including exemptions for certain token offerings and a safe harbor from investment-contract treatment. In September, it updated staff guidance on token buybacks, crypto networks, and staking receipt tokens.
The CFTC submitted a crypto market regulatory plan for White House review on Sept. 17. That came two days after the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act on Sept. 15. With midterms unfolding, agencies appear positioned to set rules while Congress remains divided.
