The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is making a decisive attempt to reverse the years-long exodus of cryptocurrency companies from the country. Agency head Paul Atkins has unveiled an ambitious project, Regulation Crypto Assets, which he believes should restore America's lost position in the global digital asset market.
At the core of the initiative are two key concessions related to capital raising. However, as Atkins emphasizes, this is only part of his broader strategy, which he has been advocating for several months. In his view, crypto projects left U.S. jurisdiction not because of vague wording in legislation, but due to excessively aggressive and harsh enforcement by the regulator.
Abandoning "coercive" regulation
Atkins directly blames years of repressive measures for the current state of affairs. According to him, it was the decisions of past years that "strangled honest fundraising" for blockchain startups. Instead of clear instructions, entrepreneurs received only threats of lawsuits. The previous approach, he stresses, tried to force tokens into the framework of securities laws written back in the 1930s, completely ignoring the specifics of modern digital assets.
"In practice, this approach only harmed the flow of capital into this asset class—through coercive regulation and insincere calls to 'come and register,'" the SEC chair stated in an official release.
Investors voting with their feet
In his comments, Atkins emphasizes pragmatism rather than ideology. Capital today moves between jurisdictions in literally a few clicks. If investors are prohibited from acting legally within the country, they will simply redirect flows abroad. Over the past four years, he notes, the previous administration effectively forced developers to launch products and raise financing exclusively on foreign platforms.
"We cannot fool ourselves: American investors in the internet age can send money anywhere. Our task is to create conditions so that they do so in the U.S. and under U.S. laws," Paul Atkins emphasized.
The path to a sustainable legal framework
Atkins believes that regulatory changes alone are not enough. He is actively lobbying for the passage of the CLARITY Act, which would legislatively enshrine the division of powers between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In his view, only federal law can create stable rules protected from political swings and reversals when agency leadership changes. He views the parallel work on rules within the SEC and in Congress as a single process aimed at repatriating capital into the American economy.
My take: Atkins' initiative is a long-awaited but extremely belated reversal. Four years of repression have seriously damaged the U.S.'s reputation as a jurisdiction for innovation. However, even the most progressive regulatory act will not eliminate the main question—whether the SEC can radically change its internal enforcement culture. Without that, any new project risks remaining merely a good intention.