SEC Proposal Opens Path for Public Token Sales Up to $75M

The US Securities and Exchange Commission wants to create a new legal path for crypto projects to raise money from the public. A proposal unveiled August 18, called Regulation Crypto Assets, would let smaller projects raise up to $5 million and larger ones raise as much as $75 million each year without full securities registration.

The plan includes two exemptions. The first is for early-stage startups, allowing them to raise up to $5 million over four years. The second lets larger projects raise up to $75 million in any 12-month period. Both require issuers to provide investor disclosures. Projects using the larger exemption also need to file financial statements and meet ongoing reporting rules.

Public token sales were once crypto's main fundraising channel. During the 2017-2018 ICO boom, projects raised money with little more than a white paper and a new token. That boom ended after failed projects, falling prices, scams, and lawsuits pushed much of the activity overseas. ICOs raised about $3 billion in January 2018 alone at their peak, according to Bloomberg.

Since then, investor demand has shifted. Money has moved toward Bitcoin and a small group of established crypto assets. Traders have also gained access to newer products like perpetual futures and prediction markets. Some crypto venture firms have shifted focus too. Instead of funding new tokens, several have put money into artificial intelligence and robotics companies.

GSR research analyst Carlos Guzman told Bloomberg the market has changed a lot since 2018. He said a white paper and a dream are no longer enough to attract investors.

Not everyone sees the timing as ideal. Dragonfly general partner Tom Schmidt said the rules would have helped more a few years ago. He said the industry's most pressing issues now are tied to market structure questions that were supposed to be answered by the CLARITY Act.

Other investors are more positive. Strobe Ventures partner Winnie Lau called the proposal a step in the right direction for teams trying to build token networks in the US. Pantera Capital's Cosmo Jiang pointed out a strange gap in the old rules. He said memecoins were legal to launch, while tokens tied to real projects often were not.

The proposal also includes a safe harbor. It would let a token stop being treated as an investment contract once the issuer finishes the work it promised to investors.

Crypto market conditions add another layer. Bitcoin was down nearly 10% for 2026 even after a recent recovery, while gold had gained more than 7%. Exchange-traded funds tracking gold and Bitcoin still pulled in a combined record $7 billion over five trading days this week, based on Bloomberg data.

The SEC's proposal is open for public comment for 60 days after it appears in the Federal Register. It moves separately from the CLARITY Act, which remains stuck in the Senate after lawmakers raised concerns tied to ethics provisions this month.