SEC Publishes First Crypto Fundraising Rule in 90 Years; Tokenized Stocks Blocked by Reg NMS

The SEC published the first formal crypto-specific fundraising rule in the agency's 90-year history on Monday, giving token issuers concrete exemption caps they can plan against — while a separate proposal to ease trading in tokenized stocks remains stalled because Wall Street's existing equity-market plumbing is structurally incompatible with how blockchain trading venues price trades. The full proposal is available at SEC.gov's Regulation Crypto Assets page.

Reg Crypto Assets: What the NPRM Actually Says

The Securities and Exchange Commission published the Regulation Crypto Assets NPRM on Monday, August 18, opening a 60-day public comment period that begins when the release appears in the Federal Register. The rule contains two fundraising exemptions and a decentralization safe harbor — specific, written parameters that token issuers and compliance teams can use as a planning target for the first time.

The first is a one-time exemption permitting offerings of up to $5 million during a four-year period. The second permits offerings of up to $75 million during each 12-month period; issuers using that pathway must provide financial statements and are subject to ongoing reporting requirements per the NPRM. Under both exemptions, issuers are required to make certain principles-based narrative disclosures available to investors.