SEC prepares new crypto asset regulatory structure

Key points:

• SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated that most cryptocurrency tokens are not securities.
• The agency is developing a new regulatory framework as part of the Crypto project.
• The SEC plans to consider a package of exemptions and expand cooperation with the CFTC.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins announced at a meeting of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia that the SEC is focused on developing structural recommendations for digital assets.

Atkins noted that he does not consider most cryptocurrency tokens traded today to be securities. According to him, the Crypto project aims to create rules that will help distinguish non-convertible tokens from those that take the form of securities.

Source: X.com

He outlined the project’s most important tasks:

• developing a clear taxonomy of tokens;
• determining when obligations under investment contracts cease as networks decentralize;
• preventing tokens from becoming “perpetual securities.”

Formation of a new regulatory structure

Atkins said that in the coming months, given legislative initiatives in Congress, the SEC may consider a package of exemptions. This would create a special regime for crypto assets that are related to or part of investment contracts.

He also explained that the Crypto project includes a component aimed at capital formation:

“I have asked the staff to prepare recommendations for the Commission’s consideration that facilitate capital formation and accommodate innovation while, at the same time, ensuring investors are protected.”

Among the new priorities are cooperation with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and analysis of the life cycle of tokenized markets. Atkins emphasized that a well-thought-out policy will allow the US to remain a place where entrepreneurs can experiment, learn, and grow under stable and fair rules.

The SEC is also developing a so-called “innovation exemption” — a temporary regime that will allow crypto projects to launch products without complying with all the requirements of securities law. The new rules will give companies more flexibility while the SEC develops a permanent regulatory framework. The plan is to launch this regime by the end of 2025.