SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has reiterated the agency's push for clearer crypto rules as it advances its Regulation Crypto Assets proposal, urging Congress to move faster on broader market-structure legislation. His comments highlight that the SEC appears to be trending toward accommodating cryptocurrencies under Atkins, even as the agency works to establish firmer guidelines for issuers and market participants. The shift marks a contrast with the approach of relying largely on enforcement actions and existing securities statutes that characterized the agency's posture toward the sector in prior years, a strategy that left many crypto firms uncertain about how their tokens would be classified.

SEC Puts Crypto Regulation at the Center

Atkins described Regulation Crypto Assets as the SEC's "most historic step yet" toward making the United States the global center of crypto innovation, and he backed congressional efforts to send the CLARITY Act to President Donald Trump's desk.

The Regulation Crypto Assets proposal is our most historic step yet to cement America as the Crypto Capital of the World—and is consonant with our belief that Congress should send the CLARITY Act to the President's desk. pic.twitter.com/Z9Pep2Wvph

— Paul Atkins (@SECPaulSAtkins) September 2, 2026 (X post)

The proposal, released by the SEC on August 18, would introduce a specific securities offering structure for select investment contracts involving crypto assets. It includes two suggested registration exemptions: $5,000,000 in offerings over four years, and $75,000,000 within a 12-month period.

The SEC also proposed a conditional safe harbor, which it noted could exempt some crypto assets from the definition of an investment contract if certain conditions are met. According to the agency, the framework is intended to give entrepreneurs more transparency about where to obtain capital while putting investor protections in place. For crypto startups, such exemptions would create defined pathways to raise funds without the full cost and burden of traditional securities registration, a question that has previously been a sticking point for token-issuing projects.

Atkins Wants Congress to Deliver CLARITY

In tandem with the SEC's rulemaking, Atkins is seeking a longer-term legislative solution to the crypto market's lack of statutory grounding. He said the SEC is carrying out its work in a manner consistent with his principle that Congress needs to send the CLARITY Act to the President's desk. The bill aims to bring greater clarity to digital asset regulation and to define clearer regulatory boundaries between federal financial regulators—a long-running tension, most notably between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over which tokens count as securities versus commodities.

Atkins has previously argued that legislation is necessary to establish long-term crypto rules that will not simply be struck down by a future regulator. In his August 18 statement, he stressed that congressional action is crucial for creating a blueprint for a permanent digital asset policy.

SEC Pushes for Clearer Crypto Rules

The newest plan builds on a major interpretive release issued by the SEC in March, which examined how federal securities laws apply to various kinds of crypto assets, goods, and services. That interpretation established categories including digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins, and digital securities, and also addressed activities such as airdrops, wrapping fixed-value tokens, and mining.

With the Regulation Crypto Assets proposal, the SEC is taking a significant step toward a formal, rule-based framework. The public comment period runs until October 20, 2026, giving crypto businesses, investors, and other market participants an opportunity to submit their views before the rules take effect. How the agency weighs that feedback, and whether Congress advances the CLARITY Act, will shape the durability of the framework Atkins has championed.

Source: Crypto Ninjas