The chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Paul Atkins, has presented proposed crypto exemptions as a way to bring digital-asset issuers and investment back to the United States, while moving the regulator away from an enforcement-led approach.
Regulation Crypto Assets, introduced on 18 August, is intended to support capital formation and address what Atkins described as the SEC’s previous resistance to crypto-related fundraising. The proposal sets out potential routes for offerings, disclosure requirements and conditions for a safe harbour.
Atkins argued that earlier SEC practice made companies offering non-security crypto assets through investment contracts apply securities rules designed for other types of market. He said that had created unnecessary complications and encouraged businesses to base their activities overseas.
In his official statement, Atkins said tailored exemptions could encourage entrepreneurs to return to the United States while maintaining key investor protections and ensuring the country remained at the centre of financial innovation.
Although he supports using the SEC’s existing powers to establish the framework, Atkins said congressional legislation would provide a more lasting foundation for crypto market structure. His backing for the CLARITY Act reflects concerns that a future regulator could reverse measures introduced by the Commission.
Atkins also credited Commissioner Hester Peirce with developing the intellectual basis for the safe-harbour element of the proposal. Peirce has spent years calling for a clearly defined route for crypto networks to develop.
The SEC chair described Regulation Crypto Assets as a fulfilment of Peirce’s original idea. His wider regulatory programme links greater clarity for crypto businesses with capital raising, tokenised securities and broader attempts to modernise US financial markets.
Peirce said the proposal had been shaped by extensive public engagement and work by SEC staff. In a statement on 18 August, she said views from both supporters and critics of crypto had influenced the framework after the Crypto Task Force invited responses from the industry.
She argued that clear rules were necessary for people seeking to build legitimate products, while also allowing regulators to apply standards consistently. However, Peirce acknowledged that the proposed exemptions and safe harbour would not be suitable for every business model.
Commissioner Mark Uyeda focused on the need for greater predictability. He said fixed thresholds and disclosure obligations would allow issuers to assess whether they complied with the rules before launching an offering.
Uyeda contrasted that approach with enforcement cases in which market participants had to work out how the facts of an individual case might apply to their own operations. He said the SEC’s previous position had denied entrepreneurs a realistic registration route for crypto fundraising.
He also said good-faith engagement with the regulator had, at times, been met with subpoenas or litigation rather than clear answers.
The criticism is consistent with the SEC’s broader move under Atkins towards formal rulemaking for crypto. However, Regulation Crypto Assets remains a proposal and does not currently create an operative exemption.
Investor protection remains central to the debate. Critics are assessing whether lower registration requirements could introduce additional risks in primary and secondary markets. Earlier congressional criticism of comparable SEC exemptions questioned the agency’s direction.
Atkins and Uyeda have argued that clearer rules could strengthen protection for investors in the United States, while Peirce has also stressed the importance of investor protection and market integrity.
The proposals form part of a wider effort by US regulators to bring oversight of securities and derivatives markets into closer alignment.
