Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins has outlined how the agency plans to regulate digital assets going forward, signaling a clear departure from what he described as a prior strategy of regulating through enforcement. Speaking in prepared remarks at the Practising Law Institute on Thursday, Atkins said the SEC would first concentrate on clarifying how existing federal securities laws apply to the crypto sector. The shift follows the agency’s signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission last week.
An interpretative notice released by the SEC on Tuesday stated that most cryptocurrencies are likely not securities under federal law. Atkins told attendees at the DC Blockchain Summit that only one category of crypto assets remains subject to securities laws under the agency’s current interpretation: traditional securities that have been tokenized. He emphasized that the interpretation represents a starting point rather than a final determination, describing it as providing long-needed clarity to the industry.
The SEC chair further specified which categories of digital assets generally fall outside the agency’s jurisdiction. These include digital commodities, digital tools, digital collectibles such as non-fungible tokens, and stablecoins. By drawing these distinctions, the agency aims to give market participants a clearer understanding of which products are subject to SEC oversight and which are not.
While the SEC’s interpretative guidance could reshape how the agency handles crypto regulation and enforcement, legislative efforts in Congress are also moving in parallel. A market structure bill known as the CLARITY Act passed the House of Representatives in July 2025 and is intended to expand the CFTC’s authority over digital assets. As of Thursday, the bill had not been scheduled for a markup in the Senate Banking Committee.
Republican senators met with White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt on Thursday to discuss how to advance the market structure legislation, according to a spokesperson for Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis. The Senate Agriculture Committee had already advanced its own version of the bill in January, but disagreements over how to handle stablecoin yield within the crypto and banking sectors have slowed progress in the Senate Banking Committee. The meeting was described by Lummis’ team as productive and positive.
According to the Lummis team, lawmakers are close to resolving outstanding issues, with negotiators described as being ninety-nine percent of the way toward an agreement on stablecoin yield. Discussions on the broader digital asset portions of the bill were also characterized as being in a constructive position. The combination of regulatory guidance from the SEC and potential legislative action from Congress suggests a more defined framework for digital assets could take shape in the near term.
Originally reported by CoinTelegraph.
