U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins said a broad crypto rulemaking package known internally as “Reg Crypto” is now in the final stages of executive review, bringing what could become one of the agency’s most consequential digital asset policy shifts closer to publication.
Speaking at a policy summit in Nashville, Atkins said the proposal is currently under review at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, or OIRA. Once that process is completed, the SEC is expected to release the rulemaking for public comment. Although the full text has not yet been published, Atkins’ recent public remarks offer the clearest picture so far of how the agency intends to redraw the regulatory boundary between securities and non-securities in crypto markets.
A framework centered on classification and exemptions
Atkins has framed the proposal as an attempt to bring greater clarity to the treatment of crypto assets under federal securities laws. In prior remarks delivered in March 2026, he outlined an interpretive approach under which most crypto assets would not automatically be treated as securities. According to that framework, digital commodities, collectibles, tools, and payment stablecoins would generally fall outside the core securities-law regime, while tokenized versions of traditional securities would remain fully subject to existing rules.
That distinction matters because the SEC’s approach to crypto has long been criticized for relying too heavily on enforcement rather than rulemaking. By publicly sketching a more defined classification system, Atkins appears to be signaling a policy turn toward formal regulatory architecture rather than case-by-case ambiguity.
Three safe harbors at the center of the proposal
The most closely watched part of the proposal is a set of three targeted safe-harbor exemptions for crypto asset offerings that may still be considered investment contracts under the Howey test. The SEC chair described these exemptions as tools designed to support capital formation while preserving investor protections through disclosure obligations.
The first is a startup exemption aimed at early-stage crypto projects. Under this pathway, qualifying projects could receive a time-limited and non-exclusive registration exemption lasting up to four years. During that period, a project could raise up to approximately $5 million while its network develops or matures. In exchange, issuers would need to make public, principles-based disclosures and file notices with the SEC.
The second is a fundraising exemption that would permit issuers to raise up to approximately $75 million in any 12-month period for crypto asset investment contracts. Issuers relying on this route would be required to submit a disclosure document covering their financial condition and other principles-based statements. Atkins also indicated that this exemption would not necessarily preclude use of other existing registration exemptions.
The third safe harbor is an investment contract exemption that creates a rule-based pathway for a crypto asset to move out of securities-law treatment. According to Atkins, this would become available once an issuer has permanently ceased all essential managerial efforts previously promised to investors. In practical terms, the exemption is designed to address the long-running question of whether a token can begin its life as part of a securities transaction and later function outside that framework.
What the proposal suggests about SEC priorities
If released in the form Atkins has described, the proposal would mark a meaningful shift in tone and structure from earlier SEC positions. Rather than assuming that a wide range of tokens remain indefinitely trapped within securities law, the framework would establish a more explicit route for compliance, fundraising, and eventual transition.
At the same time, the proposal does not amount to blanket deregulation. Atkins has emphasized that disclosure would remain central to investor protection. Even where exemptions apply, issuers would still face notice, reporting, or principles-based disclosure obligations. That approach suggests the SEC is attempting to balance regulatory flexibility with a baseline level of transparency.
The proposal also appears to reflect a broader policy preference for distinguishing between tokenized traditional securities and other forms of digital assets. This could have significant implications for startups, exchanges, token issuers, and developers that have struggled to determine whether their products fall under securities rules, commodities frameworks, or some still-undefined middle ground.
Atkins criticizes prior SEC innovation culture
Beyond the proposal itself, Atkins used the Nashville event to comment on internal changes at the SEC. He said the agency had shut down its innovation hub, a move that attracted attention because it came amid renewed promises of crypto policy progress. Atkins argued the hub had become so negatively perceived under former Chairman Gary Gensler that some industry participants felt visiting it could expose them to enforcement risk.
According to Atkins, people in the industry told him they would go to the hub, return home, and fear finding a subpoena waiting for them. He used that anecdote to illustrate what he views as the credibility damage left by the prior leadership. Atkins further suggested that, contrary to his expectations, SEC staff have largely embraced the policy shift under the current administration.
He also contrasted the current environment with Gensler’s tenure more broadly, arguing that both the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission needed institutional repair. Those remarks reinforce the political context surrounding the proposal: “Reg Crypto” is not just a technical rulemaking exercise, but part of a larger attempt to reorient the agency’s posture toward digital assets.
What comes next
For now, the market is still waiting for the formal proposed rule text. Atkins’ March 2026 speech on token safe harbors and his latest comments remain the most authoritative public descriptions of the plan. Once OIRA completes its review, the SEC is expected to publish the proposal and open it to public comment, giving industry participants, legal experts, investors, and policy groups a chance to weigh in.
That comment process will be critical. Many of the proposal’s practical effects will depend on the precise wording of the exemptions, the scope of required disclosures, and the standards used to determine when a crypto asset is no longer tied to an issuer’s managerial efforts. Even so, the direction signaled by Atkins is already clear: the SEC is moving toward a more formal and segmented crypto framework, with startup financing, token classification, and securities-law exit paths at its center.
Atkins also encouraged the crypto industry to remain engaged in the political process, including the 2026 midterm elections, and to support candidates who favor pro-innovation regulatory policy. That appeal underlines the broader stakes of the rulemaking. For many in the sector, the eventual publication of “Reg Crypto” could become a major test of whether the U.S. is prepared to offer clearer rules for digital asset growth while maintaining core investor protections.