SEC’s Atkins Foresees Definite Guidance on Crypto Assets Related to Investment Deals
U.S. SEC Chief Atkins Indicates Improved Guidance Forthcoming on Crypto Connected to Investment Contracts
Concerning the well-known Howey Test, which serves to delineate investment contracts subject to SEC authority, Atkins suggests a more defined pathway for digital currency involvement should materialize.
By Jesse Hamilton|Edited by Nikhilesh DeUpdated Nov 13, 2025, 4:33 p.m. Published Nov 12, 2025, 3:45 p.m.
What to know:
- Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins offered an update regarding his agency's efforts to bring clarity to the notion of crypto investment contracts.
- The SEC leader additionally detailed what he considers beyond his agency's authority, stating that he maintains a "commitment to humility" in order to clarify elements that fall outside the regulator's purview.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is advancing toward a group of exemptions geared toward the offering of crypto assets linked to investment contracts, according to Chairman Paul Atkins.
"I have directed the staff to develop proposals for the commission’s consideration, aimed at promoting capital growth and enabling innovation, while simultaneously guaranteeing investor protections," Atkins stated in remarks prepared for delivery Wednesday at an event hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. "By making this process more efficient, originators in the blockchain domain can dedicate their efforts to advancement and user involvement rather than attempting to navigate a complex system of regulatory ambiguities."
The ongoing discussion concerning how to ascertain whether digital assets are associated with investment contracts — a specific legal concept established by the Supreme Court in the Howey Test — may achieve greater clarity, diverging from the preceding administration's inclination to address the subject via crypto enforcement actions.
Atkins emphasized his perspective that even crypto assets associated with investment contracts might not invariably sustain that categorization. "Investment contracts can be executed and can lapse. Their duration is not indefinite simply because the subject of an investment contract continues to be traded on a blockchain," he stated. It can end when the issuer "either carries out the representations or assurances, fails to fulfill them, or they otherwise come to an end."
Even when tokens are exchanged in connection with investment contracts, Atkins contends that they ought to remain capable of being managed via "super apps" from organizations not necessarily registered with the SEC, such as those under the supervision of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or state authorities.
"While the SEC should continue to oversee capital formation, we should avoid impeding innovation and investor choice by mandating that the essential assets be traded within a single regulated setting as opposed to another," Atkins asserted.
During the address, Atkins further described his viewpoints regarding matters falling outside his agency's securities mandate, including network tokens, digital collectibles, and "digital tools," such as memberships, passes, or identity credentials. Tokenized securities, however, undoubtedly reside within the SEC's regulatory province, according to him.
In the meantime, he mentioned that his agency continues to collaborate with Congress to implement market structure legislation promptly, which will further solidify his agency's crypto stance.
"My vision is in accordance with legislation currently under deliberation by Congress and is intended to augment, not supplant, Congress’s pivotal work," he commented. He argued that a new law will assist in safeguarding the permanence of the policy adjustment. "While the commission is capable of offering a sound perspective under the existing law, there will perpetually be a risk that a succeeding commission could alter the direction."
Atkins has frequently discussed in recent speeches the constraints on his agency’s incursion into crypto, which he described as a "commitment to humility."
"Congress devised the securities regulations to tackle particular issues — circumstances in which people relinquish their funds grounded in guarantees that hinge on the integrity and competence of others," he expressed. "They were not conceived as an all-encompassing document to govern every emerging manifestation of value, whether digital or otherwise."
Read More: SEC Aiming to Formalize 'Innovation Exemption' by End of Year, Chair Atkins Says
