SEC Plans Crypto Rules to Lure Markets Onshore

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) 2026 Regulatory Agenda includes proposed rules that would clarify the regulatory framework around crypto assets.

The proposed rules will help advance the framework to embrace innovation and new technology, SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins said in a statement about the release of the agenda.

One, titled “Crypto Assets,” will propose rules for the offer and sale of crypto assets and may include some exemptions and safe harbors. The SEC said this proposed rule will aim to provide greater certainty to the market, facilitate capital formation, accommodate innovation in crypto assets markets, and ensure investors are adequately protected.

Another proposed rule, “Amendments to Broker-Dealer Financial Responsibility and Recordkeeping and Reporting Rules Regarding Crypto Assets,” will amend broker-dealer financial responsibility rules to address their application to crypto assets.

A third proposed rule, dubbed “Crypto Market Structure Amendments,” will amend Exchange Act Rules to account for the trading of crypto assets on alternative trading systems (ATSs) and national securities exchanges. The agency said this proposed rule will aim to provide clear rules for the issuance, custody and trading of crypto assets.

In his statement on the agenda, Atkins said: “To deliver on President Trump’s goal to ensure that the United States is the crypto capital of the world, we are embracing innovation to bring more products onshore, creating clear rules of the road for capital raising with crypto assets, and providing clarity as to how market participants can custody and facilitate trading of tokenized securities onchain. All while ensuring strong investor protection guardrails are in place and continuing to pursue bad actors who violate the law.”

It was reported in April that the SEC was ready to propose a “regulation crypto” that would define the agency’s approach to regulating the cryptocurrency sector and delineating between transactions that could be securities and ones that aren’t.

The rulemaking is focused on the Securities Act of 1933 and is concerned with fundraising and startup exemptions.

In May, Atkins said he believes the SEC must provide greater clarity around on-chain financial markets and that he continues to encourage Congress to pass the CLARITY Act.