SEC Unveils Regulation Crypto: Startups Could Skip Full Registration for Four Years
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Written by
Simonas Brazionis - Updated 2026-07-09 17:48:53
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing its first crypto-specific rulebook. On July 7, Chairman Paul Atkins published an updated 2026 agenda that places a proposal called Regulation Crypto in the July slot.
If it lands, it would be the first time Washington lets crypto startups raise money without triggering full securities registration. The rule is still under White House review, but the intent is now official.
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Three ways out of full registration
The proposal sketches three pathways out of the Securities Act of 1933. The first, a startup exemption, would give a new project up to four years free of full registration while it builds its network, as long as it publishes simplified disclosures, essentially a white paper on a public website.
During that window a project could raise up to about 5 million USD. The relief is conditional: the issuer must tell the SEC when it starts relying on the exemption and again when it exits, and the disclosures must cover both the investment contract and the underlying token.
A second, larger fundraising exemption would let more established projects raise up to 75 million USD in any 12-month period, provided they share audited financial statements. A third piece is a safe harbor: once a project is decentralized enough that its developers no longer drive it, the token would stop being treated as a security.
Why the rush, and who is against it
Atkins has framed the effort around President Trump's goal of making the US the crypto capital of the world. He has also stressed timing. Staff guidance can be undone by a future SEC with a single memo, but a formal rule entered in the Federal Register is far harder to reverse.
The politics are messy. The CLARITY Act, which would split oversight between the SEC and the CFTC, passed the House in July 2025 and cleared the Senate Banking Committee 15 to 9 in May 2026, but it needs to pass before August 2026 to have a realistic shot this year.
Not everyone is comfortable. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Van Hollen warned that bespoke exemptions could undermine decades of investor protections, and former SEC chief accountant Lynn Turner called a parallel framework severely deficient. Citadel Securities has pushed for full notice-and-comment rulemaking, while the Blockchain Association argues exemptions are a tool the SEC has used before.
What to watch
The proposal still sits with the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, so the text could shift before it is public, and the comment period is where the fight over investor protection will play out. Many of the token projects that would lean on these exemptions launch on networks like Ethereum, so clearer rules could shape the next wave of launches.
For readers, the practical takeaway is that clearer US rules could bring more token activity onshore, which over time changes where and how new assets reach investors on the best crypto exchanges.
The bigger picture is a regulator trying to trade courtroom battles for written rules. Whether that gives startups genuine clarity or simply a new layer of compliance will depend on the fine print, and that is still weeks away.
Either way, the July agenda has turned a long-discussed idea into a concrete deadline, and the industry will now watch each step through the White House review and the public comment window.
