SEC Can Set Crypto Rules Without New Laws, Chair Atkins Says

SEC Chair Paul Atkins has put Congress on notice: the agency will build a crypto regulatory framework with or without new legislation. Speaking at the Solana Policy Institute Summit in Washington, D.C., on September 14, 2026, Atkins made clear that the SEC’s rulemaking agenda is moving forward regardless of whether lawmakers deliver. What SEC Chair Atkins said about crypto rules Atkins told the summit that Congress should advance the CLARITY Act, a bill designed to clarify which digital assets fall under securities law. But he left no ambiguity about the agency’s backup plan. For related coverage, see CLARITY Act Stalls in Senate After Key Crypto Bill Vote. “With or without that legislation, this Administration will deliver for American investors and technological innovators,” Atkins declared in prepared remarks. That single line reframes the entire legislative debate: the SEC is no longer waiting. For related coverage, see US Seeks $61M Crypto Forfeiture in Alleged Iranian Oil Scheme. The CLARITY Act has faced bipartisan resistance in the Senate, stalling progress on a comprehensive legislative solution. Atkins is signaling the SEC will not let that gridlock freeze its agenda. How the SEC could shape crypto regulation without new legislation Atkins outlined a multi-part regulatory architecture already in motion. The centerpiece is the SEC’s proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, which introduces tiered exemptions designed to bring digital-asset offerings inside a workable legal framework. Under the proposal, early-stage crypto startups could raise up to $5 million during a four-year period under a startup exemption, giving nascent projects a clear on-ramp without triggering full securities registration requirements. Proposed startup exemption $5 million Maximum proposed startup offering exemption during a four-year period. More established projects could access a larger fundraising exemption: up to $75 million each year, subject to tailored disclosure conditions that stop well short of full securities registration. Proposed annual fundraising exemption $75 million Proposed annual ceiling for qualifying fundraising offerings, subject to tailored disclosures. Beyond the offering exemptions, the proposal also includes a conditional investment-contract safe harbor, and Atkins said SEC staff are separately developing a crypto-custody proposal for investment advisers and regulated funds. Combined with transfer-agent modernization rules already in the pipeline, the SEC is assembling a full regulatory stack, one rulemaking at a time. Commissioner Hester Peirce, who has championed a more accommodating approach to crypto for years, underscored that the work is far from finished. In her statement on the Regulation Crypto Assets proposal, Peirce asked the public to weigh in before the window closes. “The Commission cannot walk that road alone, so please send us your thoughts during the sixty-day comment period.” — Commissioner Hester M. Peirce, SEC statement on Regulation Crypto Assets The sixty-day public-comment window means the framework is not final.