I. Introduction
On April 22, 2025, Paul S. Atkins was sworn in as the 34th Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), sending an unprecedented policy-friendly signal to the crypto industry. In his inaugural speech, he clearly stated that the "top priority" of his term would be to establish a clear and reasonable regulatory framework for digital assets, helping the U.S. become the most innovative and attractive hub for crypto asset development globally.
In stark contrast to the "high-pressure enforcement" approach under former Chairman Gary Gensler, Atkins is seen as the "crypto dad," advocating for "common-sense regulation" and "supporting innovation." To date, Atkins has expressed clear policy positions on various areas including crypto assets, DeFi, stablecoins, PoW, and PoS tokens in multiple public forums. The SEC has also released a series of clarifying statements, actively delineating the scope of securities law to enhance industry confidence through rule transparency. Meanwhile, a series of high-profile enforcement cases have been withdrawn or settled, signaling a significant shift towards regulatory flexibility, indicating that the SEC is transitioning from "enforcement-led" to "rules-first."
Since Atkins took office, major investment institutions have raised their expectations for allocations in the U.S. compliant market, and the DeFi protocol and token markets have reignited growth momentum. This report will outline the important policy signals from Atkins to date, delve into his regulatory thinking and policy direction, and forecast the potential systemic impacts on the industry.
II. Analysis of Policy Differences Between Two Chairmen
In sharp contrast to the high-pressure environment of the previous administration, Atkins is transforming the SEC's stance from enforcer to guide and rule-maker.
Differences in Regulatory Thinking: During Gary Gensler's tenure, the SEC adopted a strong enforcement and "regulate first, innovate later" conservative approach to crypto assets. Under Gensler, the SEC expanded its crypto enforcement division and launched numerous lawsuits against exchanges and issuance projects, which the industry viewed as "repressive regulation." In contrast, Atkins' philosophy is a "new paradigm," focusing on formulating clear policies through a special Crypto working group, emphasizing the need to end years of "stagnation and confusion" in the industry. There were virtually no new rules tailored for crypto during Gensler's term, while Atkins has issued multiple statements clarifying the scope of legal applicability and has pushed for new rule drafting within two months of taking office. In summary, the former chairman was keen on using case enforcement as a deterrent, while the current chairman prefers to set behavioral boundaries through rule publication.
Differences in Enforcement Methods and Attitudes: Gensler emphasized high-pressure deterrence, strengthening regulatory authority through enforcement, even pursuing "non-compliance" responsibilities for projects that were not fraudulent; Atkins focuses on prudent restraint, showing tolerance for technical explorations that do not involve fraud and preferring to resolve issues through negotiation. This is reflected in personnel and institutional adjustments: before Atkins took office, acting chairman Uyeda had already begun to reduce the intensity of crypto enforcement, renaming the crypto enforcement group to "Cyber and Emerging Technologies" and reallocating personnel to rule-making. Two Republican commissioners, Uyeda and "crypto mom" Hester Peirce, have also publicly criticized Gensler's litigation-heavy approach, advocating for new rules to replace endless legal battles.
Specific Policy Differences: On the standards for determining securities, Gensler insisted on using the Howey test, believing that most tokens, except Bitcoin, meet the definition of "investment contracts," even suggesting that many tokens are unregistered securities. In contrast, Atkins' camp leans towards the opposite judgment: Commissioner Peirce stated in May 2025 that "most crypto assets in the current market are not securities." Atkins himself has supported a series of statements effectively excluding PoW tokens, ordinary stablecoins, and tokens issued in a decentralized manner from securities regulation.
Differences in Enforcement Cases: During Gensler's tenure, the SEC sued crypto projects like Ripple, Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken, attempting to establish legal precedents through court rulings. However, after Atkins took office, the SEC quickly withdrew or suspended these lawsuits, which were based on "non-compliance" without fraud, including the dismissal of the Coinbase case, the settlement of the Ripple case, and the suspension of the Binance case, representing a 180-degree policy shift.
III. Atkins' Regulatory Attitude Towards the Crypto Industry
Atkins emphasizes that the crypto asset sector needs a "reasonable market regulatory framework," providing guidance for the issuance, custody, and trading of crypto assets through clear rules, rather than resorting to enforcement actions. He pointed out that securities are migrating from traditional off-chain databases to on-chain blockchain, and the SEC must keep pace with innovation, assessing whether existing regulations need to be adjusted to accommodate on-chain securities and other crypto assets. He stated that during his term, the SEC would "no longer rely on controversial enforcement actions," but would use existing rule-making, interpretive, and exemption powers to set precise standards for market participants. Atkins' statements mark a significant shift in the SEC's regulatory approach: from previous regulatory ambiguity and high-pressure enforcement to transparent rule guidance and a legal compliance roadmap.
1. Crypto Asset ETFs
The SEC has approved the first batch of Bitcoin spot ETFs and Ethereum spot ETFs in 2024, and since 2025, there has been a surge in applications for other crypto asset ETFs. Data shows that at least 31 "altcoin" ETFs have been filed in the first half of 2025, including XRP, BNB, SOL, DOGE, and even former President Trump's personal token TRUMP, reflecting market optimism about the new regulatory environment. Analysts believe the SEC is likely to approve about ten of these ETFs, ushering in a "summer of alternative coins" for compliant products.
2. Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
Atkins stated that "economic freedom, private property rights, and innovation—these core American values—are the inherent genes of the DeFi movement." At the "DeFi and the American Spirit" roundtable on June 9, 2025, he emphasized that outdated regulations should not stifle the transformative potential of blockchain technology, stating, "There is no need to automatically fear the future." He specifically pointed out that, unlike the recent failures and turmoil of centralized platforms, many on-chain protocols have continued to operate stably according to open-source code during crises, demonstrating strong resilience. Atkins believes that DeFi requires a regulatory framework distinct from traditional intermediaries and cannot simply apply centralized financial regulations. He proposed exploring a conditional "innovation exemption" mechanism, allowing eligible registered or unregistered entities to quickly launch on-chain products and services, providing a legal testing ground for DeFi projects before formal rules are established, which is seen as a relaxation of regulation for the entire industry.
3. Trading Platforms and Token Trading
Regarding crypto exchanges and securities trading platforms, Atkins advocates breaking past unreasonable prohibitions, allowing compliant institutions to offer a richer array of trading products based on market demand. He cited examples where some brokers wish to create "super apps" integrating securities and non-securities services, noting that current laws do not prohibit registered broker-dealers with alternative trading systems (ATS) from providing non-securities trading, including pairing trades between securities and non-securities. Therefore, he has instructed the SEC team to modernize the ATS regulatory framework to better accommodate crypto asset trading and assess whether further guidance or rules are needed to support the listing and trading of crypto assets on national securities exchanges. This means that traditional securities exchanges may soon be able to list certain digital assets (such as Bitcoin ETFs, tokenized securities, etc.) under compliance, ending the previous situation where "regulated markets were not allowed to touch crypto assets." Additionally, during the SEC's construction of a comprehensive regulatory framework, market participants should not be forced to innovate overseas; he is considering providing conditional exemptions for new products/services that are difficult to implement due to current regulatory restrictions, allowing innovative attempts to remain within the U.S.
4. Miners, Nodes, and Staking Services
In terms of crypto infrastructure, Atkins has also released a signal of leniency. He believes that "voluntarily participating as a miner, validator, or providing staking services in PoW or PoS networks does not fall under the purview of federal securities law." This statement is viewed by the industry as a "get-out-of-jail-free card" for the mining and staking sectors: protecting everyone from Bitcoin miners to Ethereum validators and various staking service providers means that merely participating in network consensus and receiving rewards does not constitute securities issuance. This stands in stark contrast to the Gensler era, where the SEC frequently targeted staking, even naming projects like Lido and Rocket Pool, claiming that their liquid staking tokens stETH and rETH were unregistered securities, leading to legal actions against these projects. Atkins has made it clear that the new SEC will no longer arbitrarily create "trouble" for these projects that lack compliance efforts but do not involve fraud.
5. Self-Custody Wallets and Infrastructure
Atkins publicly supports granting market participants more flexibility to self-custody digital assets, "especially when intermediaries may incur unnecessary costs or restrict on-chain staking activities." In other words, investors should have the right to choose to store crypto assets in their own wallets rather than being forced to hand them over to third-party custodians. Atkins criticized the previous administration's approach, which he believes stifled innovation in self-custody and other on-chain technologies. As a result, the SEC has rescinded Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (SAB-121), which was a guideline from the Gensler era requiring banks and public companies to account for customer crypto assets held in custody on their balance sheets, seen as a significant barrier to providing custody services. Atkins advocates for clearly defining the standards for "qualified custodians" under the Investment Advisers Act and the Investment Company Act, and providing reasonable exemptions for common practices in the crypto market. For example, allowing investment advisers and funds to self-custody client assets under certain conditions, as some institutional self-custody solutions are more advanced and can ensure security better than custodial companies. Additionally, he proposed abolishing the current "special purpose broker-dealer" framework and replacing it with a more reasonable system.
IV. SEC Statements on Crypto Assets Not Considered Securities
Atkins has taken office as SEC Chairman, and the SEC has successively released several formal statements, staff statements, and guidance documents clarifying the regulatory boundaries for digital assets, indicating that the following types of crypto assets are generally not considered securities:
Meme Coins: On February 27, 2025, the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance released a staff statement regarding meme coins. This is the first specific clarification on how federal securities laws apply to certain categories of cryptocurrencies since Trump's executive order on digital assets and the establishment of the cryptocurrency working group. The statement indicated that most meme-based cryptocurrencies are not considered securities and their issuance and trading are not governed by federal securities laws. The statement described "meme coins" as tokens created based on internet memes, pop culture, or trending topics, where issuers attract community speculation through social media. Such tokens are typically used mainly for entertainment, social, or cultural purposes, lacking practical functionality or use cases, and their value is highly dependent on market sentiment and speculative demand. The SEC emphasized that typical meme coins do not generate holding returns and do not grant holders any claims to a company's income, profits, or assets, fundamentally differing from traditional securities like stocks and bonds. At the same time, the SEC reminded that the economic substance must be assessed based on specific circumstances; if a token, despite being labeled as a "meme," possesses investment return attributes or the issuer invests funds to generate profits, it may be classified as a security.
PoW Tokens: On March 20, 2025, the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance issued a statement regarding certain proof-of-work mining activities, clearly stating that cryptocurrencies generated through proof-of-work mechanisms are not considered securities, and related mining activities do not constitute securities issuance. This statement applies to actions that obtain block rewards through PoW consensus on public, permissionless blockchains, including both independent mining by miners and pooled mining. "Covered crypto assets" refer specifically to native tokens that are programmatically linked to the operation of the blockchain network, such as tokens that exist to participate in consensus mechanisms or as mining rewards. Miners and pool operators participating in such mining do not need to register with the SEC.
Stablecoins: On April 4, 2025, the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance released a statement on stablecoins, determining that fiat-backed stablecoins meeting specific conditions are not considered securities. The statement defined "compliant stablecoins" as digital assets that meet the following conditions: (i) designed to maintain a stable value of 1:1 with the U.S. dollar and redeemable at par; (ii) backed by sufficient low-risk, high-liquidity reserve assets, with the reserve market value at least equal to the total face value of the circulating stablecoins; (iii) limited to payment and value storage purposes, not providing holders with interest, dividends, or other passive income, and not marketed as investment opportunities. For stablecoins meeting the above criteria, SEC staff concluded that their issuance and circulation do not involve offers or sales of securities and do not require securities registration. It should be noted that the above exemption only applies to dollar-pegged stablecoins with sufficient reserves; algorithmic stablecoins, stablecoins pegged to non-dollar assets, or stablecoins promising fixed returns to holders are not included in "compliant stablecoins" and may not enjoy the aforementioned securities exemption.
PoS Staking Tokens: On May 29, 2025, the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance issued a statement stating that protocol staking activities in proof-of-stake (PoS) networks do not constitute securities issuance and sales and do not require registration under federal securities laws. The statement defined "crypto assets covered by protocol staking" as blockchain-native tokens that are closely related to the operation and security of public permissionless networks, used to participate in or reward consensus mechanisms, and do not grant holders any passive income rights. Staff believe that when holders stake such tokens to operate nodes according to network rules, or delegate tokens to third-party nodes for validation, or stake through custodial platforms, the stakers always retain ownership and control of the tokens, and the new token rewards are essentially a return for the resources provided to maintain network security, rather than investment returns derived from the efforts of others. Therefore, whether through self-staking, delegated staking under self-custody, or custodial staking through exchanges, as long as the staked tokens meet the above characteristics, the staking process and the rewards obtained do not constitute securities investment contracts as defined by the Howey test, and the related transactions do not involve securities.
DeFi Tokens: Currently, the SEC has not issued a specific statement excluding "DeFi tokens" from the definition of securities as a whole. On June 9, 2025, Atkins stated at the SEC's special roundtable on crypto assets that he would instruct SEC staff to study a conditional "innovation exemption" regulatory framework for DeFi projects, allowing decentralized finance platforms that meet specific conditions to operate with fewer regulatory constraints. Atkins emphasized that U.S. law should protect the public's right to participate in blockchain innovation, such as self-custody of digital assets and direct participation in on-chain protocols, which should not be improperly restricted. This reflects the new SEC's desire to "let the market thrive" through flexible regulation. Although these statements are not formal regulations, they indicate the SEC's inclination towards a more lenient policy direction for truly decentralized DeFi tokens that do not promise preset investment returns. In the future, the SEC may clarify the legal status of such tokens through further guidance or rule-making.
V. Outlook on Potential Policy Measures
Based on Atkins' statements and the current U.S. regulatory environment, several important policy initiatives can be anticipated during his term:
1. Restart and Improve Review of Bitcoin ETFs and Other Products: Crypto asset ETFs faced numerous obstacles during Gensler's era, but the new SEC team has shown a more open attitude. Following the approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in early 2024, Atkins has welcomed a wave of altcoin ETF applications. The SEC is likely to accelerate the review of such products and develop specific guidelines for crypto ETFs. In addition to ETFs, other innovative financial products (such as DeFi yield-based funds, NFT-backed investment tools, etc.) may also have opportunities for reevaluation.
2. Clarify Standards for Determining Crypto Asset Securities: The long-standing issue of "which tokens are securities" that has troubled the industry is expected to be clarified during Atkins' tenure. Although the Howey test remains a legal cornerstone, the SEC may issue additional guidance or rules specifically explaining the application of this test to digital tokens. For example, clarifying what degree of decentralization means a token is no longer considered a security; how the functional use of tokens (payment-type, utility-type tokens) affects the determination of securities attributes; and whether secondary market trading involves securities issuance. In fact, since 2025, the SEC has gradually provided qualitative assessments through staff statements for some categories: "pure payment-type" stablecoins are not securities, "meme tokens" may not be subject to securities laws if there is no issuer, and "proof-of-work/proof-of-stake rewards" do not constitute securities transactions. These scattered clarifications need to be elevated to binding rules or guidelines. In summary, on the core legal issue of securities determination, the new SEC tends to provide answers through explicit regulations rather than enforcement and settlements, aiming to end regulatory arbitrage and ambiguity.
3. Promote Legislative Clarification of Regulatory Jurisdiction: Although the SEC has jurisdiction over the securities domain, crypto assets involve attributes of commodities, currencies, etc., leading to long-standing disputes over the division of responsibilities between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and banking regulators. The currently advancing "2025 Digital Asset Market Clarification Act (CLARITY Act)" and "Stablecoin Innovation and Regulation Act (GENIUS Act)" in Congress aim to define regulatory boundaries and establish the legal status of stablecoins. If these laws are passed, the U.S. will welcome a unified regulatory framework for crypto assets, fundamentally addressing issues of regulatory overlap and gaps.
4. Other Possible Reform Initiatives: In addition to the above key points, Atkins' SEC may also introduce measures in internal governance and inter-agency cooperation. For example, he may reorganize the SEC's internal crypto-related departments, upgrade the status of the Crypto special working group, and establish a dedicated crypto policy office. In terms of enforcement, for cases involving serious fraud or harm to investors, Atkins is expected to continue to pursue them vigorously, even collaborating with the Department of Justice to pursue criminal liability, in order to establish an authoritative image of "cracking down on crime" and quell external doubts about his "overly lenient" stance. At the same time, to avoid market misinterpretation of his friendly posture, Atkins may periodically issue policy statements or speeches to reiterate that the SEC is neither a "roadblock" nor a "laissez-faire" entity, but rather fulfills its duties in accordance with the law and keeps pace with the times. Such communication will help stabilize market expectations and guide the industry towards lawful innovation.
VI. Impact and Outlook: A New Direction for the Crypto Market
The favorable policies following Atkins' appointment have already had an immediate uplifting effect on market sentiment. The collective surge of DeFi tokens and Coinbase's stock price rising 3.5% immediately after the dismissal of the lawsuit demonstrate that investors are actively pricing in the improved regulatory environment. Some institutional analysts referred to the dismissal of the Coinbase case as "removing a boulder that has weighed on investors for nearly two years," and there are signs of recovery in trading volume and capital flow within the U.S. This indicates that regulatory benefits are releasing industrial vitality: plans that were previously shelved due to compliance risks are beginning to restart, and innovators' confidence in the U.S. market is gradually recovering.
If the SEC formally approves a series of crypto ETFs within the next six months, it could further bring about an "ETF effect" that drives new capital into the market. More broadly, clear regulation helps dispel the uncertainty that has shrouded the market for years, thereby attracting traditional institutional investors to allocate digital assets. For example, Wall Street giants like JPMorgan have already begun to lay out plans for digital asset trading platforms, indicating their expectation of continued improvement in the policy environment. On the other hand, under relaxed policies, the DeFi sector is expected to experience a revival and upgrade. Developers can more boldly launch new decentralized financial products, which will give rise to more diverse use cases and applications, driving the evolution of the entire Web3 ecosystem.
While the outlook is optimistic, we must also recognize potential challenges:
The pace and intensity of policy implementation remain uncertain: Many of Atkins' ideas require formal rule-making or congressional legislation to be fully realized, and there may be resistance or delays in this process. For instance, will the Democrat-controlled Senate cooperate to pass crypto legislation? Will the Democratic commissioners within the SEC vote to support certain reform proposals? These are all unknowns.
External events' impacts cannot be ignored: If the market experiences another major scandal or collapse (similar to the Luna or FTX incidents in 2022), public opinion and political pressure may force the SEC to tighten its stance again.
State-level regulation and actions by other agencies will also affect the overall situation: For example, local regulators like the New York Attorney General have already indicated they will fill the "enforcement vacuum" at the federal level, meaning that even if the SEC relaxes enforcement, state regulators and judicial authorities may still maintain high pressure on the industry.
Conclusion: Paul S. Atkins' appointment marks the beginning of a new chapter in U.S. securities regulation that is friendly to crypto. In just two months, he has outlined a roadmap for crypto regulation that supports innovation, prioritizes rules, combats fraud, and promotes win-win cooperation through speeches, statements, and actions. It is foreseeable that discussions surrounding Atkins' policies will continue, but regardless, this shift in regulatory paradigm has prompted a reevaluation of the boundaries between crypto technology and financial regulation. It is believed that through rational participation and negotiation from all parties, a regulatory framework that both protects investors and embraces innovation will gradually take shape, providing valuable experience for the world.
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