#CryptoRoundTableRemarks

At the SEC’s May 2025 Crypto Roundtable on Tokenization, Chairman Paul Atkins outlined a dramatic shift in U.S. crypto policy, aiming to position the country as the “crypto capital of the planet.” Atkins emphasized that legacy rules for off-chain securities often stifle blockchain innovation and called for “fit-for-purpose” standards tailored to crypto markets. His three priorities are: clear guidelines for crypto asset issuance, liberalized custody rules (including support for self-custody and new custodial models), and open trading frameworks that allow both securities and commodities to trade together.

Atkins criticized past SEC approaches as outdated and overly reliant on enforcement, promising instead to use formal rulemaking for regulatory clarity. He pledged to work across SEC divisions to end policy siloes and provide practical pathways for compliant crypto offerings. The roundtable also highlighted broad industry support for regulatory clarity, TradFi integration, and innovation-friendly compliance, signaling a new era of proactive SEC engagement with digital assets