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SEC Chairman Atkins Emphasizes Impartial Role in Crypto Rules
Atkins marked one year by reiterating the SEC enforces rules, not picks technologies. Project Crypto's safe harbor proposals could reshape early-stage token launches.
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Paul Atkins used his one-year anniversary as SEC chairman to repeat a message he has pushed since day one: the agency enforces rules, it does not pick which technologies or business models deserve to exist. In a CNBC Squawk Box appearance, Atkins declared "a new day at the SEC," a phrase that served as both a mission statement and a jab at his predecessor.
Atkins was sworn in on April 21, 2025, after a nomination by President Trump. His first year has been defined by a systematic shift away from the enforcement-first posture of the Gensler era. The centerpiece is Project Crypto, launched on July 31, 2025. The program's core assertion: most crypto assets are not securities.
Project Crypto introduced token taxonomies, a classification system that distinguishes between different types of digital assets based on their actual characteristics. It also includes safe harbor proposals for startups, giving early-stage projects room to develop without immediate threat of enforcement action. By March 2026, Atkins had issued interpretive guidance with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to define what actually constitutes a crypto asset security.