SEC Chair: Legal Interpretation of Crypto Assets 'Just a Starting Point, Not the Endpoint'

On March 20, Cointelegraph reported that U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins said in prepared remarks at a law practice forum on Thursday that the SEC will adopt a different approach to digital assets than its prior "enforcement-focused regulation." Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the SEC will first prioritize clarifying how federal securities laws apply to crypto assets. "While this interpretation delivers the long-needed clarity, I want to assure you it is just a beginning—not an endpoint," Atkins noted. Earlier reports indicated the SEC and CFTC jointly issued new regulatory guidance, explicitly stating most digital assets are not securities, with the aim of establishing a clearer regulatory framework for the market.