The Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul Atkins, announced on Tuesday that the SEC is in the process of establishing an “innovation exemption” designed to simplify the approval process for digital-asset products by year’s end.
In an interview with Fox Business, Atkins informed anchor Maria Bartiromo of ongoing “rulemaking” efforts planned for the next few months.
We aim to implement an innovation exemption — working towards achieving this by the end of the year.”
This “innovation exemption” would serve as a regulatory exception, offering crypto firms temporary respite from existing securities regulations, allowing them to introduce new products under lighter oversight while the SEC formulates specific regulations.
Atkins responded to inquiries regarding the recent launch of the first multi-asset crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) in the United States. The product, introduced on Friday, allows investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA).
Grayscale’s crypto fund was launched under the SEC’s newly released generic listing standards, which streamline approval timelines for ETFs in accordance with Rule 6c-11.
Atkins mentioned that the updated listing standards demonstrate “another way forward. “This approach is not merely ad hoc. We aim to provide the market with a stable foundation for the introduction of new products.”
Atkins champions crypto innovation
Since being appointed as chair in April, Atkins has emerged as a strong advocate for digital assets and industry innovation.
On July 31, he introduced “Project Crypto” — an initiative aimed at modernizing the securities regulations related to crypto, aimed at “enabling America’s financial markets to transition on-chain.”
In August, while speaking at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium located in Jackson Hole, he conveyed to the audience that very few tokens qualify as securities, although “it relies on the framing and selling method.”
This stance significantly contrasts with his predecessor, Gary Gensler, who argued that the SEC’s interpretation of the Howey test should classify most digital assets as securities.
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