At The Bitcoin 2026 Conference, SEC Chair Paul Atkins and CFTC Chair Mike Selig delivered back-to-back fireside chats on the Nakamoto Stage, signaling a significant shift in Washington’s approach to digital assets, tokenization, and market structure.
Atkins described the moment as “a new day at the SEC,” while Selig said regulators are “turning over a new page” and need to harmonize their efforts. Atkins emphasized that the SEC wants digital asset activity onshore rather than pushed to foreign jurisdictions. He noted that the SEC and CFTC are now working together closely on digital assets, aiming to set a new benchmark for inter-agency collaboration.
Joint Token Taxonomy Guidance
This cooperation underpins the joint token taxonomy guidance. It draws lines between digital commodities, collectibles, and tokenized securities. The guidance offers a framework for market participants to classify assets. Atkins revisited the long-running debate over how the Howey test and existing securities laws apply to crypto. He said the SEC is trying to apply that framework while grappling with the boundary between securities and commodities.
Atkins indicated that an “innovation exemption” is coming. It is designed to give crypto projects room to build within a defined regulatory lane instead of staying in a gray area or moving offshore. He tied that effort to Congress, saying legislators need to speak clearly on digital assets so there are durable rules. He argued that it is important to have a statute that is future-proof for this space. He pointed to token taxonomy guidance as a step in that direction but stressed that a statute from Congress would anchor policy across administrations.
Principles-Based Approach
On the recent guidance, Atkins said the agencies wanted to provide principles and definitions without publishing a prescriptive list of tokens or implying recommendations about what investors should buy. He cited President Donald Trump’s GENIUS Act on stablecoins as an example of a principles-based regulatory model. He said the SEC is focused on tokenized securities through a principles-based approach rather than detailed product-by-product prescriptions.
Atkins also addressed the Clarity Act and broader crypto market structure legislation. He said there could be movement on that package in May, with the possibility of passage in June, but he cautioned that nothing is guaranteed. If crypto structure reform does not pass, he said, industry participants should remember that elections have consequences, pointing to pivots at both the SEC and CFTC as evidence of how quickly supervisory priorities can shift.
Looking ahead, Atkins framed crypto and blockchain technology as the most exciting aspect of the current transition. He highlighted the prospect of instantaneous settlement, which can reduce counterparty and settlement risk and free up capital tied up in back-office processes. He said regulators are trying to foster that outcome rather than stand in its way.
On-Chain Experimentation Initiative
Atkins previewed an initiative that will allow firms to experiment on-chain with tokenized and securitized instruments over the next few weeks. Under that effort, companies will be able to test tokenization in a supervised environment while staying within federal securities law. He framed this as part of the coming innovation exemption, intended to open a sandbox for tokenized securities under clear parameters rather than through informal no-action relief.
In his own session, Selig echoed the theme of regulatory reset. He said the CFTC is “turning over a new page” in its approach to digital assets and emphasized the need to harmonize the agency’s work with the SEC. For markets that trade products with both commodity-like and security-like features, he said, the two agencies need a coordinated framework instead of overlapping or conflicting rules.
Selig grounded his remarks in a broader principle, saying “our country was founded on the idea of private property.” In the context of crypto, that line underscored his view that token holders and innovators should have clear, enforceable rights in law. He suggested that a coherent crypto market structure for digital assets should respect property rights and give market participants predictable rules, rather than drive activity into less regulated jurisdictions.
