The SEC just laid out its 2026 regulatory agenda, and crypto is all over it. Chair Paul Atkins announced proposed rule changes covering crypto broker-dealers, digital assets on exchanges, and potential safe harbors. His take? The goal is to give the market some actual clarity for a change.
The agency’s agenda includes three main proposals. One deals with how broker-dealers handle crypto assets. Another addresses digital assets trading on alternative trading systems and national exchanges. The third explores exemptions and safe harbors — basically, carve-outs that could let crypto projects operate without immediately running afoul of securities law.
All this is happening while Congress debates a crypto market structure bill that could shift a lot of oversight from the SEC to the CFTC. Atkins has said he’d defer to legislation if Congress actually passes something.
Not everyone’s happy about it. Democratic lawmakers have accused the administration of running a “pay-to-play scheme,” pointing out that Trump and his associates benefited from companies like Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken — firms that later saw enforcement actions dropped. Three House Democrats wrote to Atkins in January saying the SEC is leaving investors unprotected.
Meanwhile, Trump told reporters this week he got into crypto “a little bit for politics” after calling Bitcoin a “scam” post-first term. He changed his tune ahead of the 2024 election after talking to industry leaders.
The shift at the SEC is real, but the politics around it are messy. Clearer rules would help the industry. Whether Congress or the SEC gets there first is still the question.
