On 12 May 2025, at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) Headquarters, Washington D.C., Chairman Paul S. Atkins delivered keynote address at the “Tokenisation – Where TradFi and DeFi Meet” Crypto Taskforce roundtable. The speech gives a direction for developing bespoke regulatory regimes for on-chain securities, and to move away from ad hoc enforcement and toward rule-based clarity.
Chairman Atkins delivered his keynote in the context of growing interest in tokenised securities and blockchain-based capital markets infrastructure. Drawing an analogy to the evolution of digital audio, Atkins portrayed tokenisation as a technological leap similar to that which transformed the music industry, arguing that the transition to on-chain securities is inevitable and must be met with a fit-for-purpose legal regime. He reaffirmed the US SEC’s commitment to innovation, clarity, and competitiveness in support of President Trump’s vision to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet.”
Chairman Atkins firmly stated that policymaking at the Commission will no longer rely on unpredictable enforcement actions. Instead, the US SEC will deploy its rulemaking, interpretive, and exemptive authorities to create a coherent, modern framework for crypto assets. The newly formed Crypto Task Force, led by Commissioners Mark Uyeda and Hester Peirce, was praised as a model for breaking down internal silos and promoting cross-divisional regulatory collaboration.
Issuance: Safe Harbors, Customised Disclosures, and Clear Definitions
The first pillar of reform concerns crypto asset issuance. Noting that only four crypto asset issuers have completed a registered offering or Regulation A issuance, Atkins criticised the mismatch between existing disclosure rules (e.g., Form S-1) and the needs of token issuers. He underscored the inefficacy of prior US SEC approaches, including the “shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later” enforcement stance, and emphasised the need for safe harbors, tailored exemptions, and clear definitional boundaries to enable compliant token launches.
He committed to commissioning staff work on updating registration forms and potentially introducing new guidance or rules under the United States Securities Act of 1933, acknowledging the broad discretion already available to the Commission.
Custody: Optionality, Self-Custody, and Reform of the SPBD Regime
On the second regulatory pillar, custody, Chairman Atkins supported granting greater optionality for qualified custodians, including recognition of self-custodial solutions for registered investment advisers and funds. He reiterated that the recent rescission of Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (SAB 121) was necessary to roll back unauthorised policy action.
Atkins also proposed revisiting the “special purpose broker-dealer” (SPBD) regime, which he described as ineffective given the burdens it imposes. He argued that modern custody rules must accommodate custodians of both crypto securities and non-securities, and should allow for technologically superior models to be used without regulatory penalty.
Trading: Super Apps, ATS Reforms, and Exchange Access
In the third and final pillar ‘Trading’, Atkins signalled support for innovation in trading models, including “super apps” that combine securities, non-securities, and financial services within a single interface. He encouraged staff to modernise the Alternative Trading System (ATS) framework to allow integrated crypto asset trading and proposed conditional exemptive relief as a potential bridge solution for platforms hindered by legacy regulations.
He made it clear that nothing in current law prohibits ATSs from facilitating trades in non-securities, and committed to exploring how national securities exchanges could be enabled to list and trade crypto assets more freely.
Call for Congressional and Executive Collaboration
Chairman Atkins closed his remarks by affirming the Commission’s alignment with the crypto-forward posture of President Trump’s Administration, reiterating that the United States must offer the most attractive and secure jurisdiction for crypto innovation globally. He expressed his readiness to work with Congress and federal partners to define that path.
