According to Paul Atkins, the SEC is considering formal rulemaking for onchain trading, broker-dealer status, clearing definitions, crypto vaults, and a possible innovation pathway that may draw on a 1990s-era framework.
Paul Atkins said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should provide clearer guidance on how securities regulations apply to onchain markets, focusing on the SEC’s exchange definition for onchain trading systems, broker and dealer rules, the clearing agency definition for onchain clearing and settlement, and securities and adviser law issues affecting crypto vaults. He said the agency may consider a limited innovation pathway in the near term, and a newer source adds that the SEC is examining a 1990s-era framework as part of that effort, though it does not specify the mechanism. Atkins argued that a durable framework should be developed through notice-and-comment and exemptive rulemaking, while also reiterating support for the CLARITY Act. The Hyperliquid Policy Center praised the approach as a constructive step toward evaluating onchain systems on their own terms rather than through legacy regulatory categories.