SEC Chair Paul Atkins Says Agency Can Advance Crypto Rules In 2026 Without Congress Legislation
US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins says that the agency can push forward with crypto regulation in 2026 without legislation from Congress.
In a recent CNBC interview, Atkins said the SEC was providing “technical assistance” as Congress considered legislation for digital asset regulation. This likely refers to the crypto market structure bill, which is also referred to as the CLARITY Act, that is marking its way through the US Senate.
“We have enough authority to drive forward,” said Atkins, adding, “I’m looking forward to having an innovation exemption that we’ve been talking about now. We’ll be able to get that out in a month or so.”
Innovation Exemption Aims To Fast-Track Approval Of Crypto Products
The innovation exemption that Atkins mentioned in his interview would allow crypto firms to launch products, such as token offerings, staking, etc., under lighter, principles-based regulation instead of full securities-registration burdens. This would essentially make it possible for smaller products to enter the market much quicker than before.
The move by the regulator is part of a broader effort to modernize oversight and make US markets more competitive for emerging technology. With the exemption, the SEC also hopes to strike a balance between oversight and innovation.
Initially, Atkins had aimed to have the innovation exemption implemented before the end of the year. However, the recent US government shutdown, which was the longest such event in the country’s history, had delayed the progress slightly.
While the US government shutdown has prompted Atkins to revise his timelines, he did say during the interview that he was still able to make progress with other facets of crypto regulation that are focused on “helping” the digital asset market.
Atkins Says Crypto Is A Priority For The SEC
Earlier this year, Atkins publicly declared that crypto regulation was a priority for the SEC.
If approved and implemented, the innovation exemption would be the latest in a series of steps the pro-crypto SEC Chair has taken to reduce the number of enforcement actions against companies operating in the space.
Those steps include the issuance of no-action letters for decentralized physical infrastructure networks.
Earlier this year, the SEC had also announced its Commission-wide “Project Crypto” initiative, which is aimed at modernizing securities rules to support blockchain-based markets, tokenization, and on-chain financial markets.
All of the steps taken by Atkins align with US President Donald Trump’s vision to make the US the world’s “crypto capital.” The SEC, acting on recommendations handed down from the White House’s digital asset working group, has also been actively collaborating with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to create a unified crypto regulatory framework.
US Regulators Still Waiting For Progress On Crypto Market Structure Bill
While Atkins aims to get the innovation exemption passed early next year, US lawmakers are taking steps to move forward with the CLARITY Act. The bill outlines the regulatory authority of different agencies in the US, including the SEC and CFTC, over cryptos.
Odds that the CLARITY Act will be signed into law in 2025 (Source: Polymarket)
There has been a back and forth between lawmakers in the Senate, but Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott recently said that the committee aims to have a bill ready for markup some time this month.
Related Articles:
About Author
About Author
