SEC's surprising stance: "Few crypto assets classified as securities"

In a significant shift for the crypto industry, Paul Atkins, the President of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has proposed a new regulatory approach during the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium in Jackson Hole. Atkins declared that "very few crypto tokens are securities," marking a departure from the stance held by his predecessor, Gary Gensler.

Atkins' approach introduces a fundamental distinction between digital assets and the context of their issuance or marketing. Instead of applying the Howey test as a universal criterion, he proposes a contextual evaluation. This evaluation considers the context of issuance, the functionality of the token, and its relationship with users.

The SEC's new stance could unlock a wave of innovation in the U.S. crypto ecosystem by reducing legal ambiguity. For entrepreneurs, this regulatory clarity means fewer resources devoted to legal defense and more investment in technological development. For users, the new stance could translate to a more diverse and robust range of Web3 solutions.

The SEC's new approach could also reposition the United States as a competitive environment for the development of decentralized technologies. This could have deep implications for the Web3 ecosystem, from startups to exchanges, and from developers to legislators. The impact of the new SEC stance extends to the international plane, potentially influencing other regulators.

The SEC's Project Crypto, an internal agency initiative, aims to define functional categories of tokens, establish transparency criteria, and create oversight mechanisms that do not rely exclusively on the Howey test. The project also seeks to move away from the "regulation by enforcement" approach and towards regulation based on explicit, understandable, and adaptive rules for crypto assets.

Under Atkins' leadership, the SEC significantly restricts blockchain regulation by declaring many crypto-assets not securities. This approach primarily affects established insiders and large investors who may benefit from regulatory certainty, while new entrants and small investors face higher risks if political conditions change.

For investors, the new stance implies greater predictability in project evolution. The SEC's new regulatory approach will be clearer, more proactive, and less punitive. This change could reposition the United States as a competitive environment for the development of decentralized technologies, potentially attracting more investment and innovation to the sector.