The SEC version Atkins buried that of Gensler. No more serial lawsuits, no more ego wars. With a pro-crypto president in the White House, the financial watchdog has understood the message. He extends his hand instead of brandishing the stick. On Tuesday, the institution dropped a bomb: a historic text, finally clear rules, a taxonomy that had been missing for ten years. The crypto market is holding its breath. After wandering, the compass.
In brief
- The SEC has issued a landmark interpretation establishing that most cryptoassets are not securities.
- A clear taxonomy now divides digital assets into five distinct categories in the eyes of the regulator.
- Bitcoin mining, protocol staking and airdrops are explicitly excluded from the scope of securities.
- Paul Atkins is preparing “safe harbor” exemptions for crypto startups wishing to raise funds.
The Killer Phrase: How the SEC Changed Its Crypto Software
First, there is this slamming statement. Paul Atkins delivers it at the DC Blockchain Summit, to loud applause: “ We're not the Securities and Everything Commission anymore “. Brutal translation: the SEC will no longer stick its nose everywhere.
For years under Gensler, the industry lived in an opaque fog. The Howey test served as a legal club. We judged token by token, trial by trial, without a road map.
Today, the decor changes completely. The agency publishes an official interpretation which classifies assets into five families: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins and digital securities. Only the last category still falls within its purview.
The rest is elsewhere. Atkins affirms this without trembling:
After more than a decade of uncertainty, this interpretation will provide market participants with a clear understanding.
The legal vagueness, this sword of Damocles, has just fallen.
Mining, staking, airdrops: what America is finally making legal
Then the guide gets into the real stuff. Protocol mining, the one that powers Bitcoin? Swept, excluding securities. Staking, the backbone of Ethereum? Same, head to limbo. Airdrops, these free distributions of tokens that made lawyers tremble? Same, clear.
Atkins hammers home the message: “ most crypto assets are not themselves securities ” (” LMost crypto-assets are not themselves securities “). Translation: the presumption of innocence replaces the presumption of guilt.
Stablecoins, until now in a regulatory blind spot, are getting their own box. Even NFTs breathe, stored in the “digital collectibles” drawer. From now on, an American entrepreneur can set up his project without waiting for the marshals to arrive. He knows the perimeter, he knows what is allowed and what is not.
The CFTC, associated with the maneuver, validates the sharing of roles. End of trench warfare between regulators. “ For far too long, American entrepreneurs have waited for clear guidelines », greets the boss of the CFTC. The wait is well and truly over.
The Atkins method or the reconciliation between Uncle Sam and crypto
However, this 180-degree turn is making people cringe in the corridors of the agency. The day before the historic announcement, Margaret Ryan, Director of Enforcement, loudly slammed the door. John Reed Stark, elder of the house, empty your bag with violence:
The SEC has abandoned its identity. It has transformed itself from being the policeman of Wall Street's financial district to something far more troubling: a regulator that functions less like a judicial oversight agency and more like a concierge service for the nation's biggest financial players.
The charge is of rare violence. Atkins, imperturbable, continues to advance his pawns. It is already preparing “safe harbor” exemptions for startups, tailor-made ways to raise funds without being suffocated by paperwork. His message to American entrepreneurs resonates like a call: “ It's time to build America “.
America is reopening its doors to crypto. It remains to be seen whether this bridge will hold until the law is passed.
What the new SEC doctrine really changes
- Five categories: commodities, collectibles, tools, stablecoins, securities;
- Zero planned prosecutions against mining, staking or airdrops;
- Ten years of legal waiting swept away in a single announcement;
- Four years of exemption envisaged for startups in safe harbor.
The financial policeman cannot simply shed light on the situation. He must also track down predators. The United States, the United Kingdom and Canada have just reminded us of this by launching a coordinated offensive against crypto scams. Clarity without firmness is never enough. America has learned the lesson: the hand outstretched on one side, the fist on the other.
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