Atkins Addresses Tokenization at Crypto Roundtable

As part of the Crypto Task Force Roundtable discussion series, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins discussed his thoughts for the future of digital assets regulation. In his remarks, Chair Atkins noted that to execute on President Trump’s vision to make the United States the ‘crypto capital of the planet’ the SEC needs to “keep pace with innovation and consider whether regulatory changes are needed to accommodate on-chain securities and other crypto assets.” He noted that establishing a crypto market regulatory structure/regime is a key priority and that regulation will focus on “clear rules of the road” rather than “ad hoc enforcement actions.”

Chair Atkins highlighted three areas of focus for crypto regulation.

First, on the issuance of crypto assets that are investment contracts, he has asked the Commission staff to “consider whether additional guidance, registration exemptions, and safe harbors are needed to create pathways for crypto asset issuances within the United States.” He noted that the staff will continue to provide clarifications via staff statements, guidance, and registration exemptions “at my direction,” but added that more may need to be done.

His second area of focus is the custody of crypto assets. He noted a couple of points he would like to address: the special purpose broker-dealer framework, clarity around qualified custodians, and self-custodial solutions, among others.

Finally, Chair Atkins is focused on the trading of crypto products, noting “I am in favor of allowing registrants to trade a broader variety of products on their platforms and in response to market demand, activities which previous Commissions had prevented.” He has also asked the Commission staff to look at the Alternative Trading System (ATS) regulatory regime to see if changes are necessary. He further noted that as the staff work to update the crypto regulatory regime, participants in the crypto space should not seek other domains, instead conditional exemptive relief may be available to bring new products and services into the financial marketplace.

Click here to view the Chairman’s remarks at the Crypto Task Force Roundtable on Tokenization.