SEC Chairman: Will Promote On-Chain Capital Market Reform and Clarify Boundaries of Digital Asset Securities

Odaily reports that U.S. SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins stated at the 2026 Reagan National Economic Forum that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is advancing a "New Era SEC" regulatory reform, focusing on modernizing digital asset regulation, promoting on-chain capital market development, and supporting the U.S. in becoming a "global crypto hub."

Paul Atkins criticized the SEC's previous "regulatory hostility" towards the digital asset industry, alleging that much crypto innovation was forced to relocate overseas. He stated that with the support of the Trump administration, the SEC has launched "Project Crypto" and is collaborating with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to promote on-chain market infrastructure and harmonize crypto regulation. The SEC has recently clarified which digital assets are securities and which are not, and is advancing an innovative exemption mechanism for "tokenized listed securities," while studying how on-chain trading systems can fit within existing regulatory frameworks.

Additionally, Paul Atkins emphasized that the SEC will reduce "over-disclosure" and regulatory burdens, promote "Make IPOs Great Again" reforms, including lowering compliance costs for listed companies, increasing IPO flexibility, and formally proposing to repeal the climate disclosure rules introduced under the previous administration. The future of U.S. capital markets should be built on a "free market and innovation-driven" foundation, where the regulator's role is to provide clear rules and legal certainty, not to suppress technological development.