In a bold and sweeping address delivered at the America First Policy Institute, Paul Atkins—the Chairman of the SEC—outlined what may become one of the most significant shifts in U.S. financial regulatory history: the launch of “Project Crypto.” Framed as a strategic initiative to reestablish American primacy in crypto markets, the initiative represents both a regulatory rethink and a policy reset.

The following opinion editorial was written by Alex Forehand and Michael Handelsman for Kelman.Law.

With historical resonance and forward-looking ambition, the speech placed digital assets squarely at the center of the next chapter in American financial innovation. “We are at the threshold of a new era,” Atkins declared, noting that the United States must not merely keep pace with crypto development abroad—it must lead it.

Learning from the Past: From Paper Crisis to Permissionless Finance

Drawing a parallel between past market failures and today’s regulatory gridlock, Atkins traced the evolution of U.S. capital markets—from the 1792 Buttonwood Agreement to the immobilization of paper stock certificates during the 1960s “Paperwork Crisis,” and eventually to the electronic trading revolution of the 1990s.

The message was clear: every generation must reckon with its own inflection point. For the 2020s, that inflection point is blockchain and digital asset infrastructure. The challenge for regulators is to ensure that legacy rules do not smother the potential of transformative technologies.

Project Crypto: The SEC’s Blueprint for On-Chain Market Leadership

“Project Crypto” is more than a slogan—it is a Commission-wide effort to modernize the federal securities regulatory framework to accommodate and encourage on-chain innovation. This includes:

• Clarifying Token Classification: Commission staff have been directed to develop clear rules of the road to distinguish crypto assets that are securities from those that are not. A goal is to end the legal gray area surrounding the Howey test and encourage entrepreneurs to innovate within the U.S. rather than abroad.
• Tokenized Securities: The Commission will support U.S. firms in tokenizing traditional instruments—stocks, bonds, partnership interests—and work with platforms to distribute them domestically, providing relief where necessary to eliminate regulatory frictions.
• Custody and Self-Sovereignty: Project Crypto reaffirms the right to self-custody and directs staff to modernize the SEC’s outdated custody rules to reflect how digital assets are stored and managed today.
• “Super-Apps” and Horizontal Integration: The initiative envisions a future in which SEC-registered platforms can offer trading in both securities and non-securities, as well as services like staking and lending—all under a streamlined licensing regime.
• Support for On-Chain Software: From decentralized exchanges to automated market makers, the Commission will create a regulatory environment where both centralized and decentralized systems can operate legally and efficiently.
• Innovation Exemption: To further unlock economic activity, the Commission is exploring a principles-based “innovation exemption” allowing market participants to launch new models without rigid adherence to legacy rules—provided that core policy objectives of investor protection are met.

A Policy Shift In America, With Global Implications

This regulatory repositioning comes on the heels of the President signing the GENIUS Act, which provides a stablecoin framework designed to uphold dollar dominance in global payments. Furthermore, the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets (PWG) has released a report that serves as a blueprint for multi-agency collaboration on crypto market structure reform.

With the endorsement of bipartisan legislative efforts in the House and active coordination with the Senate, the SEC is poised to lead rather than lag. As the official emphasized, “The SEC will not stand idly by and watch innovations develop overseas while our capital markets remain stagnant.”

America’s Next Chapter: Innovation Without Intermediaries

Perhaps most radically, the speech underscored the need to rethink the role of intermediaries in financial markets altogether. DeFi protocols and on-chain applications, which enable permissionless transactions without middlemen, represent a fundamental shift. Project Crypto seeks to give these systems a regulatory foothold in U.S. markets.

Rather than forcing legacy frameworks onto new technologies, the SEC appears ready to recalibrate its approach, offering safe harbors, bespoke exemptions, and modernized rules to allow the digital future of finance to flourish on U.S. soil.

America Leading the Chain

The address concluded with a call to action rooted in both patriotic pride and economic pragmatism: “We will not watch from the sidelines. We will lead. We will build. And, we will ensure that the next chapter of financial innovation is written right here in America.”

If Project Crypto succeeds, it won’t just reshape U.S. regulatory architecture. It could help America reassert itself as the epicenter of the global financial system—this time, one built on decentralized rails.

Kelman PLLC continues to monitor developments in crypto regulation across jurisdictions and is available to advise clients navigating these evolving legal landscapes. For more information or to schedule a consultation, please contact us.

This article originally appeared at Kelman.law.

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