Catenaa, Tuesday, September 16, 2025- US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins declared “crypto’s time has come” as he outlined sweeping reforms to bring financial markets on-chain.
Speaking at the OECD’s inaugural Global Financial Markets Roundtable in Paris, Atkins expanded on the SEC’s Project Crypto, promising clear rules for digital assets and a departure from enforcement-driven policymaking.
Atkins said most tokens will not be treated as securities under the new framework, adding that entrepreneurs need certainty to raise capital on-chain.
The SEC plans to issue bright-line rules for custody, trading platforms, and token classification.
He pledged a unified licensing regime for exchanges that integrate trading, lending, and staking, while updating custody rules to broaden investor options.
Project Crypto, first announced in July, is being positioned as the SEC’s guiding strategy in line with President Donald Trump’s push to make the US a global crypto hub.
Atkins said the initiative would accelerate tokenized securities, new asset classes, and decentralized finance, while ensuring safeguards for investors.
He also highlighted the potential for “super-app” trading platforms to consolidate services under one regulatory umbrella.
Alongside blockchain, Atkins emphasized the rise of “agentic finance,” where AI-driven systems execute trades, allocate capital, and manage risk autonomously.
Such tools, he argued, could deliver faster, cheaper, and more inclusive markets if regulators strike a balance between innovation and protection.
The remarks came days after Nasdaq filed with the SEC to enable tokenized securities trading, signaling that mainstream institutions are aligning with the blockchain shift.
Atkins urged global coordination to prevent fragmented regulation, saying the US must lead the next era of financial innovation.
