US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins said that the commission is moving away from a purely enforcement-driven response to digital assets and toward clearer, more constructive rules — a shift he framed as necessary to keep crypto activity onshore.
Clearer Path For Crypto Classification“Perhaps nowhere has the cost of failing to do so been more apparent than in our treatment of crypto assets,” he said, noting that past messaging often amounted to “adapt to us—or else.”
Atkins described the agency’s newly issued interpretive guidance, jointly prepared with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), as the start of a more transparent and pragmatic regulatory path.
The guidance further outlines how certain token transactions or structural changes can move a token into — or out of — securities regulation, providing a framework for markets to better assess compliance needs.
The agencies said this position reflects collaboration between the SEC and CFTC and aligns with recent legislative proposals, such as the GENIUS Act, with respect to stablecoins. At the same time, tokenized securities remain deemed as securities.
Upcoming Plans Disclosed By AtkinsAtkins further discussed a “fit‑for‑purpose startup exemption” for crypto assets. He suggested the agency consider allowing early-stage crypto entrepreneurs to raise limited capital or operate for a defined period without being fully subject to the agency’s rules.
Atkins stressed that the prior ambiguity had real consequences. By leaving rules implicit and relying on enforcement, the agency invited uncertainty that discouraged some firms from operating in the US and complicated compliance for those that did.
The fresh guidance, he suggested, is a corrective measure meant to bring clarity and to keep digital asset innovation within the US regulatory environment.
Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
