US SEC Chairman: Will Drive On-Chain Capital Market Reforms, Clarify Boundaries of Digital Asset Securities

Odaily Planet Daily News: US SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins stated at the 2026 Reagan National Economic Forum that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is advancing regulatory reforms for the "New Era at the SEC," focusing on modernizing digital asset regulation, promoting the development of on-chain capital markets, and supporting the United States in becoming the "global crypto hub."

Paul Atkins criticized the SEC's previous "regulatory hostility" toward the digital asset industry, stating that much crypto innovation was consequently forced to move overseas. He indicated 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 crypto regulatory harmonization. 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 also studying how on-chain trading systems can be applied within the existing regulatory framework.

Additionally, Paul Atkins emphasized that the SEC will reduce "over-disclosure" and regulatory burdens, pushing forward the "Make IPOs Great Again" reform, including lowering compliance costs for listed companies, increasing IPO flexibility, and formally proposing to repeal the climate disclosure rules introduced under the previous administration. He stated that the future of U.S. capital markets should be built on the foundation of "free markets and innovation-driven growth," and the role of regulatory bodies should be to provide clear rules and legal certainty, not to suppress technological development.