SEC Chair Paul Atkins called on the agency to adopt a tailored “safe harbor” approach for certain crypto firms and tokens, outlining the idea at a crypto industry event in Washington, D.C. His proposal contains three core components: a startup exemption, a fundraising exemption, and an investment-contract safe harbor.
Under the startup exemption, qualifying crypto companies could raise a capped amount of capital or operate for a limited duration with temporary relief from some securities rules, giving them regulatory runway to develop and mature. The fundraising exemption would permit offerings that resemble investment contracts to raise up to a specified threshold within any 12‑month period without full securities registration. The investment-contract safe harbor aims to clarify when a crypto asset becomes subject to securities law—potentially applying once an issuer has fully relinquished the essential managerial efforts tied to the asset.
Atkins said the package would create bespoke paths for innovation to access U.S. capital while preserving investor protections. He added that the SEC plans to publish proposed rules for public comment in the coming weeks. Still, he emphasized that long-term, durable crypto regulation requires congressional action; a legislative bill to define the SEC’s crypto authority remains stalled in the Senate.
Separately, the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued a joint interpretation that further explains which crypto assets meet the securities test and how tokens that are not securities can nonetheless raise securities-law issues.