Catenaa, Tuesday, October 07, 2025- The ongoing US federal government shutdown has stalled key crypto policy developments, with the Securities and Exchange Commission effectively unable to continue work on regulatory relief measures, according to a note from investment bank TD Cowen.
The shutdown began last week after Congress failed to agree on a funding bill, forcing widespread furloughs across federal agencies.
TD Cowen’s Washington Research Group said the SEC’s efforts to explore exemptive relief for digital asset firms and tokenized equities have been frozen until a deal is reached to reopen the government.
Analyst Jaret Seiberg wrote that the delay will extend beyond the shutdown period itself, as staff will need time to resume operations and handle pending matters once funding resumes.
The SEC has been operating under a contingency plan, maintaining only limited personnel for emergencies. This standstill also halts progress on long-awaited crypto exchange-traded funds that were nearing approval.
With the SEC largely inactive, TD Cowen expects attention to shift toward agencies that remain open, including the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, particularly regarding the regulation of stablecoins and tokenized payment systems.
