In a keynote speech to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, new U.S. Securities and Exmodify Commission Chair Paul Atkins reaffirmed that “most crypto tokens are not securities” as the agency continues to draft guidelines to benefit the indusattempt.
Most notably, Atkins declared entrepreneurs and investors should be able to raise capital onchain “without concludeless legal uncertainty” and pave the way for “super-app” trading platforms that increase “choice for market participants.”
“As we call on our partners to foster investor confidence and dynamic markets in their jurisdictions, these same priorities compel us, in the United States, to unleash the potential of digital assets in ours,” Atkins declared.
In a plan Atkins calls “Project Crypto,” part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to turn America into the “crypto capital of the world,” the SEC is working to “modernize the securities rules and regulations to enable our markets to relocate on-chain.”
This includes providing clearer guidelines regarding the “security status of crypto assets” as well as opening the door for trading platforms to offer trading, lconcludeing, and staking services “under a single regulatory umbrella,” Atkins declared.
The relocate comes amid a sea modify in the regulatory approach towards crypto in the U.S. during Trump’s second term. This summer, lawbuildrs were able to pass the first substantial piece of crypto legislation — regarding stablecoins — and have since built progress on a market structure bill, called Clarity, that, in part, would determine whether the SEC or Commodity Futures Trading Commission is responsible for market oversight.
Atkins noted that the previous administration, under former President Biden, led an ineffectual campaign against crypto that kept the indusattempt from developing.
“For too long, the SEC has weaponized its investigatory, subpoena, and enforcement authorities to subvert the crypto indusattempt,” Atkins declared. “That approach was not only ineffective, but injurious; it drove jobs, innovation, and capital overseas. American entrepreneurs bore the brunt — and have been forced to spconclude fortunes on building a legal defense instead of a business. That chapter belongs to history.”
“I believe regulators should provide the minimum effective dose of regulation necessaryed to protect investors, and no more,” he added, praising the work the Crypto Working Group, led by SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce, is doing to clarify rules for crypto actors, including in the tokenization and staking fields.
“Our goal is simple: to spark a golden age of financial innovation on U.S. soil,” Atkins declared. “Whether through tokenized stock ledgers or entirely new asset classes, we want breakthroughs to be built in America’s markets, under American oversight, for the benefit of American investors.”
The SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading recently announced a roundtable set for Sept. 29, where they will discuss bringing “innovative products,” such as perpetual contracts and decentralized finance, back to America.
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