SEC presents plan for crypto regulation reforms in 2025

Key points:

• The SEC has presented its agenda with proposals for the issuance and sale of crypto assets.
• Atkins claims that the agenda reflects the cancellation of items from the previous administration that do not meet the regulator’s objectives.

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins announced on September 4 that the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs published the Spring 2025 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.

Although spring 2025 has already passed in North America, the SEC borrowed South America’s spring, which begins in September, to symbolize a new dawn for the crypto industry.

Atkins explained:

“This regulatory agenda reflects that it is a new day at the Securities and Exchange Commission. The items on the agenda represent the commission’s renewed focus on supporting innovation, capital formation, market efficiency, and investor protection.”

He emphasized that the SEC is promoting new initiatives while withdrawing a number of proposals from the previous administration that, in his words, do not comply with the principles of effective supervision.

Implementation of important innovations

Two initiatives will be key:

• The SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance will establish rules for the offering and sale of digital assets, potentially including “safe harbors.”
• The Division of Trading and Markets will amend the Exchange Act to address the unique characteristics of crypto asset trading on alternative trading systems and national stock exchanges.

In addition to cryptocurrencies, the SEC’s agenda includes deregulation measures aimed at reducing compliance costs, expanding investor access to private businesses, and modernizing outdated disclosure requirements.

The regulator is also considering seeking public input on the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) project, a market oversight project that has been criticized for the increased costs and risks associated with centralized data storage. This is especially following a recent decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.