SEC nearing release of “reg crypto” that aims to clarify fundraising rules, Chair Paul Atkins says
The Securities and Exchange Commission is on the verge of publishing a landmark “regulation crypto” that will map out how the agency treats crypto activity under securities law, SEC Chair Paul Atkins told an audience in Nashville on Monday.
Atkins said the proposed rulemaking, focused on the Securities Act of 1933 and aimed at clarifying which token sales and other crypto transactions qualify as securities, is currently sitting with the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) — one step away from being made public. The package will tackle fundraising and startup exemptions, among other issues, he said at an event hosted by Vanderbilt University and the Blockchain Association.
He also told CoinDesk after his session that the SEC plans to roll out its much-anticipated “innovation exemption” soon. The exemption, Atkins said, is designed to help startups experiment without putting incumbents at a disadvantage. “We want people really to experiment within [that] framework,” he said, adding that the agency wants feedback once it’s in operation: “We'd love to have reactions and everything else. It's not a rule as such but obviously we need to know how it's functioning and if people have problems with it or not.”
Atkins repeatedly stressed that the commission is moving forward with rulemaking regardless of legislative developments on Capitol Hill. “I think we have enough of a runway now, even notwithstanding what may happen in the midterms — although I really still want a friendly Congress obviously — they can throw tacks on the road in front of our tires but they're not going to really slow us down,” he said.
He also urged the crypto community to engage in the upcoming election cycle, citing Senator Bernie Moreno as an example of the kind of congressional presence the sector should support. “To have Congress really veer off track is not going to any of us any good, and it's going to put a lot more questions into the future because people then just have ‘oh gosh, maybe this is again a passing phase,’” Atkins said. “We've got to make sure that your friends are in Congress. I think you saw how that really paid benefits in the last election.”
What’s next: With the reg crypto in OIRA review, publication and a public comment period could follow. The industry can expect a clearer framework for distinguishing securities from non-securities transactions in crypto, plus new carve-outs intended to foster startup experimentation — and the SEC appears to be inviting industry input on how those carve-outs perform in practice.
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