- Paul Atkins pledges to end enforcement-first approach at the SEC.
- Project Crypto aims to modernise rules for tokens, platforms, and custody.
America’s top financial regulator is doubling down on making the country the crypto capital of the world.
Speaking in Paris at the OECD’s inaugural roundtable on global financial markets, US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins declared that “crypto’s time has come” and vowed to end years of antagonism from the regulator.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international organisation that offers a forum for member states to compare economic policy expertise.
“For too long, the SEC has weaponised its investigatory, subpoena, and enforcement authorities to subvert the crypto industry,” Atkins said.
The pledge marks another break from the enforcement-heavy strategy that the industry bemoaned under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
Before Atkins took the job, the SEC had already largely ended the crypto crackdown that sought to force the industry to comply with the same securities regulations that govern issuers and brokers of stocks and bonds.
The agency dropped or postponed several enforcement cases against crypto firms, including Ripple, Coinbase, Binance, and Consensys.
Atkins, a seasoned Beltway lawyer who spent years lobbying on behalf of the industry before grabbing the top spot at the regulator, isn’t stopping there either.
He said the agency will deliver “clear, predictable rules of the road so that innovators can thrive in the United States.”
Project Crypto
Atkins’ plan centres on Project Crypto, a sweeping overhaul of securities rules.
He introduced the initiative this summer in an attempt to turbocharge the integration of traditional financial markets with blockchain technology.
The way the agency put it, the’ initiative will clarify that most crypto tokens are not securities, create a unified regulatory umbrella for trading, lending, and staking platforms..
Custody rules will be revised to provide investors and brokers with multiple options.
“Our goal is simple,” Atkins said. “To spark a golden age of financial innovation on US soil.”
Lifting red tape
The comments align with the Trump administration’s pro-crypto tilt.
Having become a crypto supporter on the campaign trail, US President Donald Trump has spent the months since his inauguration issuing executive orders, rubber-stamping a stablecoin bill into law, and appointing crypto champions like Atkins into key governmental roles.
Atkins also praised Europe’s progress with MiCA, the European Union’s sweeping crypto regulation framework, and called for closer cooperation across the Atlantic.
However, he made it clear that the US intends to lead.
“President Trump calls America a nation of builders,” Atkins said.
“Under my chairmanship, the SEC will encourage those builders, not suffocate them under red tape.”
Lance Datskoluo is DL News’ Europe-based markets correspondent. Got a tip? Email at lance@dlnews.com.
