U.S. SEC Chair: Plans to introduce an "Innovation Exemption" mechanism to support compliant on-chain trading of tokenized securities

Deep Tide TechFlow News, April 21 — U.S. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins delivered a one-year inaugural speech at the Washington Economic Club, stating that the SEC is advancing reforms to the digital asset regulatory framework and incorporating them into the “A - C - T” strategy, which aims to promote regulatory modernization, clarify regulatory boundaries, and reshape the rule system. Regarding crypto assets, the SEC has released a classification system for crypto tokens, dividing digital assets into five categories, four of which are not considered securities.

He stated that the SEC is about to launch an “Innovation Exemption” mechanism to provide a limited framework for market participants to conduct compliant on-chain tokenized securities trading, and has initiated Project Crypto to promote securities rules and regulatory systems to adapt to the on-chain trend in capital markets.

Additionally, the SEC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the CFTC last month to unify key definitions, clarify regulatory jurisdictions, and coordinate joint regulatory matters including digital assets. Paul Atkins also mentioned that the previous regulatory approach to crypto assets in the U.S. had led to innovation activities flowing overseas.