SEC Proposes New Regulation Crypto Assets

Proposed rules would create a tailored securities offering regime for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets

Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - August 18, 2026) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it proposed new rules, titled Regulation Crypto Assets, that would create a clear and fit-for-purpose framework for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets. This proposal follows the Commissions March 2026 interpretation clarifying how the federal securities laws apply to certain crypto assets and transactions involving crypto assets.

Together, these efforts introduce a comprehensive, tailored securities offering regime intended to address long-standing barriers to responsible capital formation and innovation within domestic crypto asset markets, while preserving the investor protections at the core of federal securities laws.

As we continue the Commissions efforts to provide clarity for crypto markets, and as Congress works to establish a lasting regulatory framework, Regulation Crypto Assets seeks to provide crypto asset entrepreneurs and market participants with clear pathways to raise capital under the federal securities laws, said SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins. In line with the Commissions earlier interpretative guidance, this proposal would also allow for a safe harbor once an issuer has completed or permanently ceased all essential managerial efforts that it represented or promised it would take under an investment contract. Congress designed our securities laws to amplify within specific guardrails opportunities for entrepreneurs to innovate and build new products. Advancing this regulatory framework is a key element in our strategy to advance the rule books for the modern era and another step by the Commission to onshore innovation in crypto asset markets for generations to come.

The proposed rules include two exemptions from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 specifically tailored to certain investment contracts involving crypto assets. The first is a one-time exemption that would permit offerings of up to $5 million during a four-year period. The second exemption would permit offerings of up to $75 million during each 12-month period. Under both exemptions, issuers would be required to make certain principles-based narrative disclosures available to their investors. In addition, issuers under the second exemption would be required to provide financial statements and be subject to ongoing reporting requirements.

The proposed rules also include a conditional safe harbor from the term investment contract in the definitions of security in the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. If the conditions of that proposed safe harbor are satisfied, then a crypto asset would be deemed not to be subject to an investment contract for purposes of those definitions of security. In addition, the proposed rules would preempt state securities law registration and qualification requirements with respect to offers and sales of securities issued pursuant to an exemption in Regulation Crypto Assets, as well as certain secondary market transactions.

By building on the Commissions interpretive guidance issued earlier this year, the proposed rules aim to bring greater clarity to when crypto assets fall within the federal securities laws, reduce incentives for issuers to create and operate offshore, and expand investment opportunities for U.S. investors with stronger, more consistent protections.

The public comment period will remain open for 60 days following the date of publication of the proposing release in the Federal Register.

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