Paul Atkins SEC Policy Analysis: The U.S. Cryptocurrency Compliance Framework Fully Shifts Toward 2025–2026

On April 21, 2025, Paul Atkins officially assumed the chairmanship of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As of April 21, 2026, exactly one year has passed. During this year, the SEC’s regulatory stance in the digital asset space has undergone a fundamental shift—from the enforcement-centered tough approach of the Gensler era to a policy-driven model focused on rulemaking and institutional coordination.

Atkins summarized this shift as “a new day for the SEC.” In an interview with CNBC, he stated, “We have moved away from the old practices of enforcement replacing regulation and opaque institutional operations, with the crypto space being the best example.” However, this policy shift did not begin only after Atkins took office. As early as January 2025, during the period when Gensler resigned and Commissioner Mark Uyeda served as acting chair, the SEC established a crypto working group led by Hester Peirce, and in February 2025, it was the first to withdraw civil enforcement actions against Coinbase. Signals of the policy shift had already started to emerge after the election results were announced.

What Industry Imprints Were Left by the “Enforcement Regulation” of the Gensler Era?

To understand the changes in the Atkins era, it is first necessary to review the regulatory path during Gensler’s tenure. According to Cornerstone Research, from April 2021 to December 2024, the SEC initiated a total of 125 enforcement actions related to crypto under Gensler’s leadership, an 80% increase from the 70 cases during Jay Clayton’s tenure from 2017 to 2020. The total fines amounted to $6.05 billion, nearly four times Clayton’s $1.52 billion.

The Gensler era centered on the logic of “regulation through enforcement.” The SEC filed lawsuits against major crypto platforms like Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken, accusing them of securities law violations. Critics argued that this aggressive strategy stifled domestic innovation and pushed crypto companies to relocate overseas. Notably, during Gensler’s tenure, 66% of enforcement actions involved fraud allegations, compared to 54% during Clayton’s era, indicating a shift in enforcement focus toward fraud cases during Gensler’s period.

From Withdrawal of Enforcement to Admission of Misjudgment: How Did Atkins End the Enforcement-First Mode?

Within one year of taking office, the SEC undertook several substantive measures in enforcement. The most significant change was that starting from February 2025, the SEC gradually withdrew seven crypto-related enforcement actions involving Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, Cumberland DRW, Consensys, and others. The SEC justified these withdrawals by stating that these cases “lacked sufficient federal securities law basis.”

On April 8, 2026, the SEC released its Enforcement Report for fiscal year 2025, further acknowledging issues with the enforcement model during Gensler’s era. The report characterized many past crypto registration cases as “misinterpretations of federal securities law” and pointed out that these cases “did not bring substantial benefits to investors.” The SEC also disclosed that since 2022, it had initiated 95 enforcement actions against improper recordkeeping by institutions, with total penalties reaching $2.3 billion, and admitted that this “heavy but superficial” enforcement approach had systemic biases.

Looking at enforcement data, in FY2025, the SEC launched a total of 456 enforcement actions, a roughly 30% decrease from 2024. Atkins stated that the agency is “repositioning” its enforcement plans, shifting resources from pursuing case quantity to targeting behaviors that cause the greatest harm to investors, such as fraud and market manipulation. Meanwhile, the SEC has completely removed the dedicated crypto asset section from its key review documents for FY2026, integrating it into broader risk categories.

What Changes Have Occurred in the SEC’s Approval Logic for Multi-Currency ETFs?

Within one year of Atkins’s appointment, the SEC’s progress in approving crypto ETFs vividly reflects the policy shift. During Gensler’s tenure, the SEC only approved Bitcoin spot ETFs and Ethereum spot ETFs, with lengthy legal battles over approval. After Atkins took office, ETF approvals accelerated and expanded significantly.

In September 2025, the SEC announced that the general listing standards would apply to crypto ETFs, prompting asset management firms to act swiftly. In the same month, Hashdex received SEC approval to launch a crypto index ETF containing BTC, ETH, XRP, and SOL. In October, the SEC approved Canary Capital’s Litecoin ETF and Hedera ETF for listing on Nasdaq.

By March 2026, the SEC completed a “collective approval,” officially approving core rule changes for spot ETFs involving 24 tokens, including XRP, Solana, and Litecoin. In April 2026, the SEC further approved ETF options trading for “multi-crypto asset” trust funds listed on NYSE American, breaking the previous restriction of allowing only single-asset crypto options.

The shift in ETF approval logic is reflected in two dimensions: first, the scope of approval has expanded from single assets to index-based and multi-asset portfolios; second, the approval pace has quickened from case-by-case review to batch approvals. This change indicates a transformation in the SEC’s understanding of crypto assets—when most are no longer viewed as “securities,” their entry into traditional financial products through compliant channels becomes naturally feasible.

Signing of Regulatory Coordination Memorandum Between SEC and CFTC: Can Institutional Collaboration End the Jurisdictional Turf War?

A long-standing challenge in the crypto industry has been the blurred boundaries of jurisdiction between the SEC and the CFTC. After Atkins’s appointment, substantial progress was made in regulatory coordination between the two agencies.

On September 2, 2025, the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets and the CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight and Clearing Risk jointly issued a statement initiating a cross-agency coordination plan, clarifying that current laws do not prohibit registered exchanges from trading certain spot crypto asset products. Three days later, Atkins and then-CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham jointly announced a regulatory coordination roundtable covering topics such as 24/7 markets, event contracts, perpetual contracts, portfolio margin, innovation exemptions, and DeFi.

In January 2026, Project Crypto officially became a joint policy initiative of the SEC and CFTC, aiming to unify the federal regulatory framework for crypto markets. In March, the two agencies jointly issued a 68-page interpretive guidance, explicitly stating that “most crypto assets are not securities,” marking a substantive implementation of the policy shift.

In a joint statement, Atkins and CFTC Chair Michael Selig said that the agenda for agency collaboration begins with foundational work: unifying definitions, coordinating supervision, and establishing data-sharing mechanisms between agencies. Although the joint guidance has been issued, the SEC’s crypto regulatory framework remains in a transitional phase of “administrative guidance with case-by-case handling,” and the passage of the Market Structure Act by Congress will be the final determinant of jurisdiction boundaries.

Outlook for Crypto Compliance in the Second Half of 2026: Legislation in Congress Remains the Biggest Variable

Despite significant shifts in enforcement and product approval, the institutionalization of crypto regulation still depends on legislative confirmation by Congress.

On the legislative front, the Senate Agriculture Committee advanced the Digital Asset Market Structure Bill into committee review in February 2026 with a 12-11 vote. JPMorgan analysts noted in a February 2026 report: “Although market sentiment remains negative, we believe that market structure legislation is likely to be approved by mid-year, which could serve as a positive catalyst for the crypto market in the second half of the year.”

In terms of SEC rulemaking, Atkins announced in December 2025 that the innovation exemption plan for crypto companies would take effect in January 2026, providing projects that meet decentralization and technical security conditions with a “regulatory buffer period.” In April 2026, Atkins stated that the Safe Harbor proposal had been submitted for review to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, allowing crypto projects to raise funds without immediate registration.

On stablecoin regulation, the GENIUS Act has entered implementation, with the Treasury Department and OFAC jointly proposing rules in April 2026 to include compliant stablecoin issuers within anti-money laundering and sanctions frameworks. Internationally, Basel III/IV will take effect in the second half of 2026, allowing banks to allocate up to 2% of their Tier 1 capital to crypto assets, further encouraging institutional inflows.

However, opposition voices in Congress are rising. Senators like Elizabeth Warren and other Democratic lawmakers continue to criticize Atkins, claiming that SEC enforcement actions have fallen to their lowest levels in a decade and raising potential conflicts of interest regarding the withdrawal of cases involving Trump-related companies. Despite these controversies, the overall direction of the U.S. crypto regulatory framework shifting from “enforcement-first” to “rule-driven” has been largely established, with the focus in the second half of 2026 shifting from policy to implementation.

Summary

On the first anniversary of Paul Atkins’s appointment as SEC Chair, the U.S. crypto regulatory landscape has undergone a systemic shift from the enforcement-driven approach of the Gensler era to a policy-driven model. This shift is reflected at three levels: first, the restructuring of enforcement logic, with the SEC acknowledging past enforcement flaws, withdrawing seven cases, and reducing overall enforcement actions by about 30%; second, the acceleration of product approvals, expanding from Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs to multi-asset ETFs covering 24 tokens and approval of multi-crypto asset options; third, the deepening of institutional coordination, with the SEC and CFTC signing a memorandum of understanding and jointly issuing interpretive guidance clarifying that most crypto assets are not securities. Looking ahead to the second half of 2026, the outcome of Congress’s review of the Market Structure Bill will be crucial in determining whether the crypto regulatory framework is fully institutionalized.

FAQ

Q1: What major crypto enforcement cases has the SEC withdrawn during Atkins’s tenure?

Since February 2025, the SEC has withdrawn seven crypto-related enforcement actions involving Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, Cumberland DRW, Consensys, and others. The SEC considers these cases to have “lacked sufficient federal securities law basis.”

Q2: What types of crypto ETFs has the SEC approved during Atkins’s tenure?

The SEC has approved Bitcoin spot ETFs, Ethereum spot ETFs, Litecoin ETFs, Hedera ETFs, and crypto index ETFs containing BTC, ETH, XRP, and SOL. In March 2026, it approved the core rule changes for 24 spot ETFs involving various tokens. In April 2026, it further approved ETF options trading for multi-crypto asset trust funds.

Q3: What are the main contents of the regulatory coordination memorandum signed between the SEC and CFTC?

On September 2, 2025, the SEC and CFTC jointly announced the launch of Project Crypto, a cross-agency coordination plan clarifying that current laws do not prohibit registered exchanges from trading certain spot crypto products. In January 2026, Project Crypto became a joint policy initiative. In March, both agencies issued a 68-page interpretive guidance explicitly stating that “most crypto assets are not securities.”

Q4: What are the key policy nodes to watch in crypto compliance in the second half of 2026?

Focus on three areas: the progress of Congress’s Market Structure Bill, the implementation of the SEC’s innovation exemption plan, and the details of the GENIUS stablecoin legislation. Additionally, Basel III/IV will take effect, allowing banks to hold crypto assets, potentially attracting institutional capital.

Q5: Are there controversies surrounding the regulatory shift during Atkins’s era?

Yes. Democratic lawmakers, including Elizabeth Warren, have questioned the decline in SEC enforcement actions to their lowest in a decade, and raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest regarding the withdrawal of cases involving Trump-related companies.