SEC Chair Atkins Backs CLARITY Act Vote: Will BTC, ETH and XRP Rally?

SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the agency’s newly proposed crypto framework represents its “most historic step yet” toward fulfilling the White House’s push to make the United States the crypto capital of the world, timed just ahead of the CLARITY Act’s scheduled Senate vote on September 15.

Atkins Lays Out the SEC’s Plan A and Plan B

Atkins said the SEC’s proposal is designed to work in tandem with the CLARITY Act rather than in place of it, allowing the agency to collect public comment now and be ready to move forward with formal rules once the legislation clears Congress and reaches the president’s desk. 

Asked how far the SEC would go if Congress fails to act, Atkins said the agency believes it has sufficient authority under existing law to proceed with rulemaking on its own, though he was clear that path is less durable than legislation. 

“What we really do need is statutory grounding of this to make sure that it is sustainable, lasting into the future,” Atkins said, noting that rules built purely on agency authority can be reversed by a future commission, while a law passed by Congress cannot be undone as easily.

Atkins also framed the effort as a reshoring push, arguing that crypto innovators have spent the past several years building products and raising capital offshore rather than in the U.S., and that American investors can already move money anywhere in the world regardless of domestic policy. “We need to make sure that they can do it here in the United States under United States law,” he said.

Crypto Markets Pull Back Even as Optimism Builds

This comes as Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and the broader altcoin market cool off after a recent rally. Bitcoin is trading near $77,000, down roughly 1.3% on the day, as a global bond market selloff weighed on risk assets. 

Experts have observed that Bitcoin’s 4-hour Bollinger Bands are compressing following its move from $63,000 to above $80,000, a sign that volatility has cooled significantly after the run-up. With BTC trading around $77,100, $79,500 remains the important resistance level the market has been tracking closely.

XRP ETF Demand Building Despite the Pullback

Away from the price action, institutional appetite for XRP appears to be holding up. US spot XRP ETFs pulled in roughly $105 million, or about 73.2 million XRP, during the week of August 24. Analyst Ali Charts said that an hourly close above $1.38 would confirm that pattern, with the $1.31 to $1.38 range serving as the zone to watch in the meantime.

Ethereum’s Wave Structure Points to a Deeper Pullback First

After a move higher, ETH could see a pullback toward the $2,100 to $2,220 range before finding its footing. Some buying interest may show up earlier, around $2,320, which could spark a bounce toward $2,780 to $2,960 before a deeper dip back near $2,100. A daily close below $2,050 would signal this pullback scenario is no longer playing out as expected.

What It All Adds Up To

Between Atkins’ regulatory push, softening price action across majors, and mixed signals from ETF flows versus short-term technicals, the setup heading into the September 15 CLARITY Act vote looks anything but settled. Institutional demand for XRP appears to be building quietly in the background, even as Bitcoin consolidates and Ethereum’s chart structure points to further downside before any renewed rally attempt.