SEC to pursue innovation exemption early next year…"Will begin to bear fruit"

Paul Atkins, commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), signaled swift action on cryptocurrency policy priorities early next year. On the 9th (local time), according to The Block, Atkins said, "I haven't seen anything yet," and that many policy efforts will begin to bear fruit next year.

Atkins said at the Blockchain Association policy summit in Washington, D.C., "the seeds sown this year will sprout and grow next year," explaining that the SEC's review and整理 of various cryptocurrency-related measures will be put into full swing. He presented a 'token classification proposal' last month to distinguish the securities status of virtual assets, and is concurrently pursuing 'Project Crypto,' aimed at a comprehensive overhaul of digital asset regulations.

In particular, he named the introduction of the 'innovation exemption' as a top priority for the new year. This is a system that allows cryptocurrency and fintech projects to experiment conditionally with reduced regulatory burdens for a certain period. Atkins said, "I hope to be able to unveil the system around the end of January next year."

The SEC's direction is seen as contrasting with the tenure of former chairman Gary Gensler. At that time, the SEC treated many tokens as securities and filed lawsuits against major companies, and the industry criticized that regulatory uncertainty had intensified. In contrast, Atkins has continued to prioritize regulatory clarity and to pursue a market-friendly structure.

However, the token classification proposal and adjustments to jurisdictional scope must be discussed in parallel by Congress. Currently, the Senate is discussing a cryptocurrency market-structure bill that would delineate supervisory authority between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), aiming for review by the Senate Banking Committee within the year, but progress is uncertain. Atkins said, "We will see what conclusions Congress reaches."