SEC green lights crypto
in most bullish regulatory shift in crypto history.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins announced "Project Crypto": A commission-wide push to rewrite securities law and bring America’s financial markets onchain.
His words: “The future of markets is decentralized. We intend to lead it.”
This is the most significant regulatory infrastructure shift in digital assets, creating a framework for institutional adoption while establishing regulatory capture mechanisms that fundamentally alter crypto's outlook in the US.
Translation: America is about to become the crypto capital of the world.
Three key implications
Tokenization of traditional securities brings Wall Street assets on-chain under SEC oversight.
DeFi regulatory safe harbor legitimizes decentralized protocols while establishing compliance frameworks.
300+ companies that moved to Singapore, Dubai, and Switzerland now have repatriation incentives.
The regulatory pivot in 5 take-aways:
From enforcement-first to enablement-first. Chairman Atkins' July 31 announcement is a complete reversal of the Gensler-era approach:
1. Legal crypto fundraising is back
ICOs, airdrops, and network rewards are coming back to the U.S.
Clear guidelines for crypto vs. traditional securities
Tokenized assets — stocks, bonds, real-world assets — can legally go onchain (huge!)
2. Self-custody is now a protected right
Your keys, your crypto, officially
Banks can finally hold crypto without regulatory fear
3. Super-licenses are coming
One license = trade crypto, stocks, bonds, lending, staking
No more 50+ state licenses for basic services
4. DeFi gets regulatory clarity
On-chain software systems protected
Code publishers get legal safe harbor
5. Innovation exemption fast-track
Startups can go to market immediately, before fitting into legacy rules.
Build → launch → comply later under principles-based guidance.
What this really means:
For years, crypto innovation fled to Singapore, Switzerland, Dubai.
The SEC's "regulation by enforcement" killed American leadership.
Now that's over.
“Project Crypto” is establishing the regulatory foundation for mainstream adoption while fundamentally altering the industry's competitive dynamics.
Every offshore crypto company that left during the Gensler era?
They're about to come home.
Every Wall Street firm that sat on the sidelines?
They're about to go all-in.
The framework prioritizes American financial leadership over crypto's original disintermediation thesis.
This regulatory clarity eliminates adoption barriers for institutional capital while creating new moats around compliance and infrastructure.
And it opens the floodgates for the next era of capital market infrastructure – built on-chain.
We’re just getting started.
– Marc
