U.S. SEC readies "innovation exemption" for onchain tokenized securities

According to Huo Xing Finance, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins said in a speech at the Economic Club of Washington marking his first year in office that the agency is pushing ahead with reforms to its digital-asset regulatory framework under an "ACT" strategy. The plan focuses on modernizing regulation, clarifying regulatory boundaries and rebuilding the rule system. On crypto assets, Atkins said the SEC has released a taxonomy for crypto tokens that divides digital assets into five categories, four of which are not securities. He added that the SEC is preparing an "innovation exemption" designed to provide a limited compliant framework for market participants to transact tokenized securities onchain. Atkins also said the SEC has launched Project Crypto to align securities rules and oversight systems with the capital markets' shift onchain. Last month, the SEC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to harmonize key definitions, clarify regulatory jurisdictions and coordinate oversight on shared issues, including digital assets. Atkins noted that the U.S.' prior approach to crypto regulation had driven innovation overseas.