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- Paul Atkins redefines SEC’s crypto stance, narrowing securities classification.
- Project Crypto outlines digital shift for stocks, bonds, and currencies.
- SEC signals openness to blockchain innovation while ensuring investor protection.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins has taken a different approach to regulating cryptocurrencies. He stated that only a small number of tokens should be classified as securities.
Addressing the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium, Atkins clarified that tokens do not make securities in themselves. What matters is how they are organized and presented to society.
His remarks are in stark contrast to the opinion of his predecessor, Gary Gensler. Gensler has also maintained that the majority of crypto assets are securities.
Also Read: Bitcoin Treasury Giant Strategy Expands Holdings with $51.4 Million BTC Purchase
Project Crypto and Market Vision
Atkins’ comments came in the wake of a new SEC project named Project Crypto. The program aims to revise securities laws regarding blockchain-based financial markets.
The plan envisions a future in which traditional assets like stocks and bonds shift to digital platforms. Such a transition would allow blockchain technology to approach traditional finance.
Bernstein analysts described Project Crypto as the most ambitious regulatory vision ever put forth by a chair of the SEC. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan called it a roadmap that will demonstrate how assets will migrate on-chain over the next five years.
SEC’s New Attitude Toward Innovation
Atkins emphasized that the SEC will promote innovation rather than prevent it. He stressed that regulations should enable technology to advance and safeguard investors.
Atkins later, in a blog post on X, wrote that the SEC needed to develop a structure to avoid regulatory regress. He further observed that an alliance with Congress and other institutions would be vital to long-term blockchain adoption.
Policy Shift
This stance indicates a marked change in SEC policy. Atkins is instead advocating a more dynamic approach to classifying the majority of tokens as securities.
His statements indicate that U.S. regulators are gravitating toward policies that facilitate the use of blockchain. Meanwhile, regulation is still in place to guarantee market stability.
Atkins’s remarks mark a turning point for the SEC. The agency seems willing to find a balance between innovation and regulation, which will define the future of digital assets.
Also Read: South Korea Cracks Down on Crypto Lending: Major Exchanges Forced to Halt!
