Paul Atkins Says CLARITY Act Passage Crucial to SEC's New Crypto Rules, Stresses Importance of 'Statutory

SEC Chair Paul Atkins said on Wednesday that the agency’s new cryptocurrency regulation proposal aligns with the agency’s belief that the CLARITY Act will be enacted into law.

Atkins Hails ‘Most Historic Step’

During an interview with Fox Business, Atkins reiterated that the proposal is the "most historic step" taken to modernize cryptocurrency regulations and cement the U.S. as the “Crypto Capital of the World.”

“I think this is an important step to try to reshore, to bring back to the United States innovators that we have over the past administration’s four-year term chased offshore,” he added.

The proposal includes a “safe harbor” allowing non-security cryptocurrency assets to exit SEC oversight once issuers complete promised managerial efforts and meet decentralization conditions. The exemptions also require issuers to provide certain "principles-based narrative disclosures" to investors.

But what happens if Congress fails to pass the CLARITY Act?

‘Statutory Grounding’ Necessary, Says Atkins

Atkins said the new proposal is grounded in the “authority” that the agency has under current laws, but believed the cryptocurrency legislation is crucial for the proposal’s success

“The good thing, the necessary thing with respect to the statute, is that it makes it a very much more stable over time,” he added.