SEC Chairman Paul Atkins announced Thursday the launch of "Project Crypto," an initiative that supports President Trump’s push to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the world."
Speaking at the America First Policy Institute, a think tank aligned with Trump’s agenda, Atkins said the project represents a “Commission-wide initiative to modernize securities rules and enable America’s financial markets to move on-chain.”
While SEC chairs have traditionally maintained independence to reinforce the role’s nonpartisan nature, Atkins made it clear he’s aligning the agency with Trump’s policy goals.
“I would like the world to go on notice that under my leadership, the SEC will not stand idly by and watch innovations develop overseas while our capital markets remain stagnant,” he said.
“To achieve President Trump’s vision of making America the crypto capital of the world, the SEC must holistically consider the potential benefits and risks of moving our markets from an off-chain environment to an on-chain one.”
The initiative also includes plans to establish new custody rules for digital assets and pave the way for financial "super-apps" like those developed by Coinbase and Robinhood.
“This represents more than a regulatory shift — it is a generational opportunity,” Atkins said.
Crypto-friendly leadership
Atkins’ appointment was widely seen as a win for the crypto industry.
Unlike his predecessor Gary Gensler, who fought to classify most digital assets as securities, Atkins has long advocated for integrating crypto into mainstream finance.
Before leading the SEC, he co-chaired the Chamber of Digital Commerce, a major crypto advocacy group.
The President’s Working Group (PWG) on Digital Asset Markets also released a report this week recommending that the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission “immediately enable the trading of digital assets at the federal level.”
This framework will serve as the foundation for Project Crypto, which will be directed by the SEC’s Crypto Task Force led by Commissioner Hester Peirce.
Regulatory overhaul
Atkins said he has instructed staff to draft “clear and simple rules of the road for crypto asset distributions, custody, and trading” for public comment.
In a striking departure from past SEC stances, he also challenged the long-running debate over whether digital assets should be regulated as securities.
“Despite what the SEC has said in the past, most crypto assets are not securities,” Atkins declared. Under current rules, assets deemed securities must register with the SEC, subjecting them to stricter oversight.
Atkins wants to change that, directing the commission to create guidelines that help market participants determine whether a token is a security, a digital commodity, a stablecoin, or another category.
“It should not be a scarlet letter to be deemed a security,” Atkins said, adding that Project Crypto will allow certain securities to trade alongside non-security tokens under a new framework.
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