US SEC Chairman: Cryptocurrency and tokenization are SEC’s “top priorities”

Author: Martin

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is shifting from law enforcement and supervision to framework building, charting a clear development path for the crypto industry.

"Cryptocurrency and tokenization are the SEC's top priorities." Paul Atkins, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), made it clear at the Fintech Week held in Washington, D.C. recently that in the face of this industry that has long been in a regulatory gray area, Atkins changed his previous serious attitude as a regulatory agency and half-jokingly called the SEC the "Securities and Innovation Commission." This statement signals a possible major shift in U.S. regulatory policy for crypto assets. Atkins emphasized that the SEC hopes to build a strong regulatory framework to attract crypto talent and companies that have left the United States to return and lay the foundation for future innovation and development. In fact, the SEC has already begun to promote specific measures. Atkins revealed that it will launch an "innovation exemption" mechanism to enable companies to bring on-chain products and services to market faster.

New regulatory thinking: from law enforcement to framework building

For a long time, the U.S. SEC has adopted a regulation through law enforcement” approach to the cryptocurrency industry. This strategy has repeatedly caused controversy, but the current SEC leadership has shown a different governance approach - building an adaptive regulatory framework rather than blindly curbing it.

Atkins pointed out that the SEC will launch an "innovation exemption" program, with the goal of creating a system similar to a "super application" to enable multiple regulatory agencies involved in crypto assets to work together and avoid the trouble of companies having to repeatedly register across multiple departments.

The background of this change is that the urgency of cryptocurrency regulation is becoming increasingly prominent. In recent years, the scale of the crypto market has expanded rapidly, and various tokenization practices have continued to emerge.

The global regulatory attitude is undergoing a major shift from strict risk control to regulatory guidance. In his speech, Atkins also emphasized his optimism about distributed ledger technology, calling it "the most exciting part of the crypto field." This statement indirectly reflects the SEC's recognition of the fundamental value of blockchain technology, rather than a complete denial of the potential contribution of cryptocurrencies. "Project Crypto": Strategic Layout of the US Market The SEC's proactive shift is not an isolated incident, but part of the US strategic layout for crypto assets. Earlier this year, the SEC launched Project Crypto, a comprehensive reform of securities rules aimed at updating securities rules and regulations to enable the US market to migrate to the blockchain.

The priorities of this initiative are clear: Provide certainty about the securities attributes of crypto assets; ensure that entrepreneurs can raise funds on-chain without facing endless legal uncertainty; and allow "super application" type trading platforms to innovate.

At the same time, according to the recent report of the President's Digital Asset Markets Working Group, the SEC will work with other agencies to ensure that platforms can provide trading, staking and lending services for crypto assets under a single regulatory framework. Atkins believes: "Regulation should provide the 'minimum effective dose' of regulation required to protect investors, and no more than that."

Real challenges: government shutdown and market volatility

However, the SEC's efforts to promote crypto regulation face practical obstacles. The US government shutdown has entered its second week, and Congress has failed to reach a funding agreement, which has greatly restricted the actions of federal agencies and put SEC employees on unpaid leave.

This stagnation may affect the SEC's ability to respond to unexpected events in the crypto market. For example, just recently,the SEC announced plans to take legal action against Ripple for selling XRP, causing XRP to plummet 30% that day and other major cryptocurrencies to fall sharply.

In its lawsuit, the SEC accused Ripple of conducting an "unregistered securities offering," while Ripple argued that XRP should be considered a currency rather than a security.

This type of dispute highlights the urgency of establishing a clear regulatory framework.

Digital Currency Competition from a Global Perspective

The U.S.'s crypto regulatory measures are even more strategically significant in a global context. Currently, the global digital currency field is gradually diverging into three main paths:the central bank digital currency path represented by China,the "cryptocurrency + stablecoin" path represented by the United States, and

the diversified path represented by the European Union.

The United States is attempting to further consolidate the U.S. dollar's global currency status in the digital economy era by buildinga crypto-dollar hegemony anchored by strategic Bitcoin reserves and using U.S. dollar stablecoins as a means of circulation.

The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) recently came into effect, establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets.Some European policymakers have called for the formulation of "MiCA 2" to cover decentralized finance, non-fungible tokens, and digital asset lending.

Against this international competitive landscape, the active actions of US regulators are not only a need for domestic financial regulation, but also part of the global competition for monetary sovereignty. As Atkins said,"the era of encryption has arrived,"and the question now is how countries respond to this trend.

The next few months will be a critical period for the reform of U.S. crypto regulation.If the SEC can quickly advance the "Crypto Plan" and "Innovation Exemption" after government funding is restored, the United States may attract a large number of crypto companies and talent to return.And new products such as tokenized stocks, prediction markets, and early token issuance may also gain broader development space.

As major economies such as the European Union and Singapore accelerate the establishment of digital asset regulatory frameworks, the landscape of global crypto competition is taking shape.The U.S. SEC's policy shift will become a key variable affecting the future digital asset landscape.