New SEC chair intends to write rules for crypto
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Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins in April. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The new head of the U.S. securities regulator plans to modernize SEC rules and forms to better accommodate the registration of new crypto assets.
Why it matters: The digital asset industry has long sought a way to issue assets within U.S. regulations.
Driving the news: "I believe the commission has broad discretion under the Securities Acts to accommodate the crypto industry, and I intend to get that done," Securities and Exchange Commission chair Paul Atkins said in the keynote of an agency roundtable Monday.
- He called it the key priority for his tenure to develop a "rational regulatory framework" for crypto asset markets that establishes clear rules for the three areas of issuance, custody, and trading.
Between the lines: Issuance includes establishing a way for entities to raise money for digital-asset products. Custody and trading are part of the industry process to move blockchain assets around in a regulatorily approved way.
With issuance, Atkins said the commission would encourage registrations of crypto assets by both clarifying exemptions for non-securities and by establishing "clear and sensible" guidelines for distributions that are securities or "subject to an investment contract."
With custody, Atkins said he supports providing registrants with more options for how to hold onto assets on behalf of customers.
- He suggested the agency would review and clarify the types of entities approved as a "qualified custodians" under SEC rules, and provide exemptions from existing custody requirements to accommodate certain common practices within the industry.
- Case in point: He said advisors and funds should be able to engage in self custody under certain circumstances, suggesting that the existing framework for so-called special purpose broker-dealers should be amended.
With trading, Atkins said in favor of allowing registrants to trade a broader variety of products on their platform, including both securities and non-security assets.
The big picture: The SEC is looking to create clearer rules for crypto assets just as Congress is working on new laws to establish a broader crypto regulatory framework, and specific laws around stablecoins.
- "We have to be in sync with what they do," Atkins told reporters following the keynote. He doesn't, however, believe the SEC has to wait for Congress to act. "I think we have adequate authority under the securities laws to proceed," he noted, even absent passage of new laws.
What's next: Atkins stressed that official commission action is necessary to replace the existing patchwork of staff pronouncements and guidance
- "We ought to come up with rules that can stand the test of time."
