In a keynote address at the SEC’s latest Crypto Roundtable, Paul Atkins commented on the Commission’s role in crypto policy. He identified three key regulatory focus areas: issuance, custody, and trading.
Compared with his last Roundtable appearance in late April, Atkins gave an insightful look at his ambitious crypto agenda. With these priorities, it seems like the SEC will truly transform US crypto policy.
Paul Atkins’ Plans for the SEC
Earlier today, the SEC hosted its fourth Crypto Roundtable discussion, centered around tokenization. Its agenda has been telegraphed for several weeks, and the Commission published several members’ full statements.
Hester “Crypto Mom” Peirce was enthusiastic, Caroline Crenshaw displayed her usual skepticism, and SEC Chair Paul Atkins gave a keynote address:
“In order for the United States to be the ‘crypto capital of the planet’ as envisioned by President Trump, the Commission must keep pace with innovation. Rules and regulations designed for off-chain securities may be incompatible with or unnecessary for on-chain assets and stifle the growth of blockchain technology,” he claimed.
This discussion is Paul Atkins’ second Crypto Roundtable discussion since becoming SEC Chair. Today’s appearance, however, was very different.
Although his speech in April was remarkably brief, this keynote address was much more comprehensive. Atkins’ comments extended past tokenization to give insights into his overall outlook on crypto policy.
His comments revolved around a common theme: the digital asset industry is comprehensively different from TradFi institutions, and requires a new approach.
Atkins claimed that the SEC has the responsibility “to set fit-for-purpose standards for market participants.” To accomplish this, he identified three overarching areas of interest:
First, Atkins claimed that the SEC should enable crypto firms to explicitly issue securities contracts. Issuers have generally avoided the Howey Test, and Atkins mentioned that only four crypto companies currently have registered securities offerings.
He believes that the SEC “has broad discretion under the securities acts to accommodate the crypto industry” and intends to use it.
Secondly, Atkins wishes to direct the SEC to liberalize custody rules for cryptoassets. He plans to encourage more of them by reforming “qualified custodian” requirements and the broker-dealer framework.
This includes recognizing blockchain-based self-custody solutions and other high-tech approaches that don’t currently align with the law’s view of an asset custodian.
In a particularly important move, Atkins wants the SEC to allow more asset trading. This position manifests in a few ways. He doesn’t just advocate for single firms to offer both securities and commodities; Atkins would even allow “pairs trading,” matching both categories together.
His priority is keeping the securities market in the US, and he wants Congress to facilitate this.
In summary, Paul Atkins has very ambitious plans for the SEC’s crypto approach. Compared to his last Roundtable appearance, today’s keynote speech was practically a manifesto.
With this bold and clear-eyed leadership, it seems inevitable that the SEC will transform US crypto regulation for the better.
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