SEC Proposes New Regulation Crypto Assets

Proposed rules would create a tailored securities offering regime for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets

Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - August 18, 2026) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it proposed new rules, titled “Regulation Crypto Assets,” that would create a clear and fit-for-purpose framework for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets. This proposal follows the Commission’s March 2026 interpretation clarifying how the federal securities laws apply to certain crypto assets and transactions involving crypto assets.

Together, these efforts introduce a comprehensive, tailored securities offering regime intended to address long-standing barriers to responsible capital formation and innovation within domestic crypto asset markets, while preserving the investor protections at the core of federal securities laws.

“As we continue the Commission’s efforts to provide clarity for crypto markets, and as Congress works to establish a lasting regulatory framework, Regulation Crypto Assets seeks to provide crypto asset entrepreneurs and market participants with clear pathways to raise capital under the federal securities laws,” said SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins. “In line with the Commission’s earlier interpretative guidance, this proposal would also allow for a safe harbor once an issuer has completed or permanently ceased all essential managerial efforts that it represented or promised it would take under an investment contract. Congress designed our securities laws to amplify – within specific guardrails – opportunities for entrepreneurs to innovate and build new products. Advancing this regulatory framework is a key element in our strategy to advance the rule books for the modern era and another step by the Commission to onshore innovation in crypto asset markets for generations to come.”