SEC Chair Lays Out Pro-Crypto Plans
Paul Atkins, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), recently revealed plans to overhaul capital market regulations to support both cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based trading. He laid out several pro-crypto plans, including that he has directed commission staff to develop guidelines on when a crypto token is a security, and proposals for disclosures and exemptions.
SEC staff will work with firms hoping to offer tokenized securities, like blockchain-based shares of stocks or funds that have become more of a focus for crypto players. “This represents more than a regulatory shift — it is a generational opportunity,” Atkins said in a speech before the America First Policy Institute, according to Reuters.
Atkins’ plans came just one day after a cryptocurrency working group formed by President Trump urged the SEC to develop updated rules regarding digital assets. The White House called on the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to use their authority to “enable the trading of digital assets at the federal level.”
Atkins has worked with crypto in recent years prior to heading the SEC, and noted that the rulemaking will be housed under “Project Crypto,” a new initiative that will look to broadly modernize securities rules and regulations. The initiative will work to implement the White House’s recommendations, including “innovation” exemption from securities laws.
Atkins has also asked the SEC to create “clear and simple rules of the road” for crypto distributions, custody, and trading. In the meantime, the SEC will consider using interpretive and exemptive authorities to provide flexibility for crypto issuers.
Most cryptocurrencies are not securities, Atkins said, a designation that crypto has tried to avoid. However, Atkins noted that he has directed the SEC staff to create a framework allowing certain crypto assets deemed to be securities to be traded alongside tokens that are not considered securities.
For years, the crypto sector has argued that existing regulations are inappropriate for cryptocurrencies, and has urged Congress and regulators to write new rules to specify when a crypto token is classified as a commodity, security, or falls into another category like stablecoins.
