The SEC plans to introduce its long-awaited crypto rulemaking as soon as this month, bringing the agency a step closer to establishing a regulatory safe harbor for certain crypto-related activities in the United States. An updated SEC agenda for 2026 has the rule penciled in for a potential July release, which would then be followed by a period of public comment on the proposed policies. The rules would govern the offer and sale of crypto assets, and also include “certain exemptions and safe harbors” for various types of on-chain financial activity.
Regulatory Clarity
The exemptions would hand crypto companies a guarantee that activity in certain areas, such as tokenized securities and decentralized finance, or DeFi, would not trigger enforcement action from the SEC. SEC chair Paul Atkins said the goal is to “ensure that the United States is the crypto capital of the world” by creating clear rules for capital raising with crypto assets.
Proposed Exemptions
In March, the SEC chair said a crypto safe harbor could apply to startups worth up to $5 million seeking to experiment with crypto assets in their first four years, and to entrepreneurs raising up to $75 million via investment contracts involving certain crypto assets. The introduction of the crypto safe harbor rule comes as the Clarity Act, a sweeping bill that would legalize most crypto activity in the US, faces a critical period in the Senate, with stakeholders agreeing that if the bill does not pass by August, it is unlikely to become law this year
Based on reporting from crypto.news.
