Catenaa, Monday, September 15, 2025– US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins said Wednesday that most digital tokens do not qualify as securities, signaling a major policy shift as the agency moves to support integrated “super-app” platforms for crypto trading, lending and staking.
Speaking at the OECD Roundtable in Paris, Atkins announced the launch of Project Crypto, a sweeping plan to modernize securities rules for blockchain-based markets.
He said the new approach would replace regulation by enforcement with clear, predictable standards, aimed at giving innovators room to operate in the United States.
Atkins described the initiative as a “new day at the SEC,” stressing that regulation should be limited to the minimum necessary to protect investors. He noted that the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets has already provided a blueprint for updating US financial rules to reflect digital asset adoption.
The SEC’s framework envisions licensed platforms offering trading, custody, staking and lending under a single regulatory umbrella. Atkins pointed to Europe’s MiCA regime as a useful example of a comprehensive approach and urged closer global cooperation to support innovation in financial markets.
His remarks mark a significant departure from the prior administration’s aggressive enforcement actions against crypto firms.
They also come as the European Union presses banks to hold more capital against unbacked digital assets, underscoring diverging regulatory strategies between Washington and Brussels.
