Very Few Crypto Tokens Qualify As Securities: SEC Chair Paul Atkins

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins has once again signaled his more crypto-friendly approach towards regulations than the last administration, stating that there are relatively few tokens that are securities.

Few Crypto Tokens Are Securities: SEC Chair, Paul Atkins

In his speech at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium 2025, where the first state-backed stablecoin was launched, the SEC Chairman Paul Atkins commented on the classification of cryptocurrencies. According to Atkins, very few crypto tokens can qualify to be securities.

Atkins says the SEC would just go along with the idea that crypto tokens by themselves aren’t securities. He adds that the regulator can not continue “looking at [tokens] themselves as necessarily being a security.”

In a recent post on X, Atkins went ahead to reaffirm his statements by saying that the SEC needs to develop a structural framework to make the crypto markets future-proof against regulatory shenanigans. 

The SEC boss hopes to work collaboratively with his peers across the Administration and Congress to get the job done. The remarks come after the SEC launched Project Crypto last month, the aim of which, Atkins said during a panel discussion at the New York Fintech Week event, was to modernize securities law and enable U.S. financial markets to integrate with on-chain markets. 

The initiative presents a sharp contrast with the directive of the previous SEC Chair, Gary Gensler, who consistently affirmed that most crypto assets were subject to securities regulation. Atkins says it is a new day for the crypto industry, and the SEC will aim to be innovative.

How The New SEC Approach Can Affect the Crypto Market

Cryptocurrency analysts have hailed the approach of Atkins towards crypto regulation. Bernstein analysts this month called the SEC Project Crypto the most ambitious, most disruptive vision of crypto ever to be issued by a sitting SEC chair, and they said its implications may rewrite the rules of Wall Street.

With the SEC under the new administration looking to bring clear guidelines, developers, investors, and exchanges will know what is permissible, which can reduce the number of legal cases. Since the vast majority of tokens are not securities, blockchain projects with a utility, DeFi, or non-investment focus might also have a lesser regulatory burden, possibly spurring innovation.

The strategy can also help attract the involvement of institutions since the rules are better defined, which will minimize the possibility of them investing in unregistered securities. Market confidence grows when investors know that regulations are reasonable and well-defined.

Bottom Line

Chairman Paul Atkins’ declaration that “very few” tokens qualify as securities and the launch of Project Crypto mark a notable change in how the SEC aims to approach crypto regulation. It fits the vision of President Trump to turn America into the crypto capital of the world. 

What remains to be seen is how crypto will be approached by collaborative efforts between the SEC and other regulators. Congress members are also working to pass a new law that will establish a definite crypto market structure in September.