{"id":6567,"date":"2025-08-02T12:50:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-02T12:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/project-crypto-secs-bullish-pivot-marks-americas-digital-finance-shakeup\/"},"modified":"2025-08-02T12:50:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T12:50:20","slug":"project-crypto-secs-bullish-pivot-marks-americas-digital-finance-shakeup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/project-crypto-secs-bullish-pivot-marks-americas-digital-finance-shakeup\/","title":{"rendered":"Project Crypto: SEC\u2019s bullish pivot marks America\u2019s digital finance shakeup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-detail__content blocks\">\n<p class=\"is-style-lead\">On July 31, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission\u2019s Chairman Paul Atkins gave a 30-minute speech in which he outlined the SEC\u2019s plans to improve the regulatory climate surrounding the cryptocurrency industry significantly. While the markets didn\u2019t react to it, the crypto community declared Atkins\u2019s speech \u201cthe most bullish news for crypto in a decade.\u201d <\/p>\n<div id=\"cn-block-summary-block_cf70abf9b227a1dd3290b0c5e478023c\" class=\"cn-block-summary\">\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__nav tabs\">\n        <span class=\"tabs__item is-selected\">Summary<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>SEC Chairman Paul Atkins outlined future focal points of crypto regulation<\/li>\n<li>New rules will ease crypto business in the U.S., give Americans new opportunities, and reshore companies that left during the Biden era<\/li>\n<li>SEC is going to support tokenization and set a clear framework for bringing the U.S. markets on-chain<\/li>\n<li>Professionals from the crypto space lauded Atkins\u2019s speech and predicted that crypto will go mainstream within two years<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- .cn-block-summary --><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Project Crypto<\/h2>\n<p>Atkins gave <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/newsroom\/speeches-statements\/atkins-digital-finance-revolution-073125\" rel=\"nofollow\">the speech<\/a> at the America First Policy Institute, and the name of this organization aligns well with the title of the speech: \u201cAmerican Leadership in the Digital Finance Revolution.\u201d Right off the bat, Atkins proclaimed that America is in its defining moment in terms of becoming a leader in the crypto assets markets.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Atkins referred to a complex of actions in the American crypto industry, planned by the SEC, as \u201cProject Crypto.\u201d The main directions of Project Crypto include:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ensuring that the legal status of crypto in the U.S. facilitates innovation and encourages entrepreneurs to work in the U.S.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Support for the tokenization trend, moving various markets on-chain<\/li>\n<li>Paving the way for inclusion of U.S. citizens for participation in airdrops, ICOs, etc<\/li>\n<li>Bringing together securities and digital assets via the SEC-regulated platforms, or \u201csuper-apps\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Guaranteeing that innovative companies, which don\u2019t fit in the existing rules, will not have to stop their activity while regulators adjust the rules<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p>\n<p>Such a broad and multifaceted program was met with enthusiasm by American cryptocurrency professionals and experts, as Atkins addressed various long-standing problems in the crypto regulation approach in his speech. Not everything he mentioned will necessarily materialize, but the overall direction received acclaim from industry players.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">hard not to read  SEC&#8217;s &#8220;Project Crypto&#8221; and feel incredible optimistic about the future of the industry, the technology, the developers<\/p>\n<p>2024 will go down as one of the most important elections in american history<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jeff Park (@dgt10011) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dgt10011\/status\/1950980409224765609?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">July 31, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The next day after Atkins\u2019s speech, the SEC <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/2025-102-road-sec-crypto-task-force-host-series-roundtables-across-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">shared plans<\/a> to host a series of roundtables, allowing Crypto Task Force members to communicate with local crypto industry players across the country.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fighting the shadows of the past<\/h2>\n<p>One of the focal points of Project Crypto is making President Donald Trump\u2019s <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/donald-trump-bitcoin-cryptocurrency-stockpile-6f1314f5e99bbf47cc3ee6fc6178588d?__cf_chl_f_tk=X4uBUcv4xv6Sna4B4VB2.WlvZ212Qa8xdKvGAF.wf4k-1754068864-1.0.1.1-Eha6ryNiDbJDB8eXQY5aC0HChKDIDo18H7u2WdoSh8M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">rhetoric<\/a> about America being \u201cthe crypto capital of the planet\u201d a reality. This includes reshoring U.S. businesses that left the country due to what was perceived as unfavorable regulations from previous administrations. It aligns well with Trump\u2019s protectionist efforts to bring manufacturers back to the U.S. Atkins said that under his leadership, \u201cthe SEC will not stand idly by and watch innovations develop overseas while our capital markets remain stagnant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The previous SEC chairman, Gary Gensler, tended to equate most cryptocurrencies with unregistered securities and initiated multiple legal battles with key industry players, such as Ripple and Coinbase, forcing them to divert resources to protect themselves from the SEC instead of focusing on their products. Understandably, this wasn\u2019t a healthy environment for the crypto industry to thrive.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Due to securities laws, many crypto companies have excluded American citizens from their ecosystems. For instance, Americans could not receive airdrops, participate in ICOs, etc. Atkins directly addressed this issue in his speech, saying that the SEC will work to coin regulation that will allow the U.S. citizens to participate in the crypto activity without those limitations, so that \u201cissuers no longer exclude Americans from their distributions to avoid legal complexity and lawsuits, but instead choose to include Americans to enjoy legal certainty and an accommodating regulatory environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another shadow hanging over the U.S. crypto industry is Operation Chokepoint 2.0, a term used to describe what crypto pros saw as a coordinated effort by U.S. regulators to restrict their access to the traditional banking system. <\/p>\n<p>While some argue that increased scrutiny is a necessary step to combat illicit activity like money laundering and terrorist financing, the lack of clear regulatory guidelines, coupled with sudden account closures and pressure on banks to sever ties with crypto firms led many to believe that the actions were intended to stifle an emerging sector seen as a threat to entrenched financial and economic interests. <\/p>\n<p>Atkins vowed to create an attractive regulatory climate in the U.S. so that companies that had to flee the U.S. due to debanking would eagerly return to the U.S.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Setting new rules<\/h2>\n<p>The SEC is set to implement new rules that will allow crypto companies to focus on growth and development. Atkins said:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cI have directed the Commission staff to draft clear and simple rules of the road for crypto asset distributions, custody, and trading for public notice and comment. While the Commission staff works to finalize these regulations, the Commission and its staff will, in the coming months, consider using interpretative, exemptive, and other authorities to make sure that archaic rules and regulations do not smother innovation and entrepreneurship in America.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>To ease the crypto business deployment in the U.S., Atkins vowed to create an exemption that will allow both registered and non-registered crypto companies to work in the U.S., even if they are not perfectly fit in the existing rules, giving companies and regulators time to make adjustments so that everyone will be satisfied. However, companies will be required to report to the SEC, will not be able to establish services outside the \u201cwhitelist\u201d services approved by the SEC, and face several other protective limitations.<\/p>\n<p>Atkins addressed the companies\u2019 demand for the framework regulating crypto distribution in the U.S., which will foster cryptocurrency offerings and other capital-raising avenues associated with digital assets. To eliminate all uncertainty, the SEC is going to determine the legal status of various crypto assets (digital collectibles, stablecoins, digital commodities, etc). The aim is to help market participants follow clear guidance.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On top of that, Atkins emphasized that the right to choose between self-custody or using a third-party custodian is the \u201ccore American value.\u201d Custodians must adhere to the rules set by the SEC.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Super-apps and tokenization<\/h2>\n<p>In his speech, Atkins mentioned a new notion \u2013 super-apps. In general, by super-apps, he meant platforms where traditional securities and cryptocurrencies would be traded side-by-side. According to the SEC Chair, his priority is to bring securities and non-security tradable assets under a single roof.<\/p>\n<p>Atkins said:\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cNothing in the federal securities laws prohibits SEC-registered trading venues from listing non-securities on their platforms today, and I have directed the Commission staff to develop further guidance and proposals ultimately to make this \u201csuper-app\u201d vision a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Generally, Atkins was discussing tokenization and the integration of securities and non-security assets, allowing them to be traded with ease. Securities should be brought on-chain to facilitate easier trading and remove unnecessary intermediation wherever possible. Some of the securities laws will be rewritten to meet these goals.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reaction<\/h2>\n<p>Despite the SEC Chairman\u2019s bullish speech, the crypto market declined the following day. The reasons are the continuation of the downtrend that began earlier, high tariffs imposed by Trump on many countries, and the Federal Reserve\u2019s decision to keep interest rates at a high level.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">SEC: releases most bullish news for crypto in a decade<\/p>\n<p>markets: <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uTwxCtgUZQ\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/uTwxCtgUZQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 mert | helius.dev (@0xMert_) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/0xMert_\/status\/1951009862558581170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">July 31, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>However, Atkins\u2019 speech bears a powerful message to the crypto community, and it didn\u2019t go unheard. If and when the SEC starts deploying its Project Crypto, the market may react positively.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">July 2025 was the end of the beginning for crypto. <\/p>\n<p>A new chapter is starting now\u2014 crypto will start to show up everywhere as a mainstream asset class and technology over the next 12-24 months. <\/p>\n<p>What started as an Executive Order from the President months ago, has now advanced\u2026 <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/k6Lc5J4YKl\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/t.co\/k6Lc5J4YKl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Hunter Horsley (@HHorsley) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HHorsley\/status\/1951150913709810126?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">August 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>As Hunter Horsley of Bitwise put it, the changes are starting now, and it will take 12-24 months for crypto to go mainstream.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On July 31, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission\u2019s Chairman Paul Atkins gave a 30-minute speech in which he outlined the SEC\u2019s plans to improve the regulatory climate surrounding the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6567"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6567\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6568,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6567\/revisions\/6568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}