SEC chair outlines 2026 agenda focused on crypto and public markets

The SEC’s 2026 regulatory agenda now formally includes three crypto-specific rulemaking initiatives, marking a clearer shift toward building a framework for digital assets within U.S. securities law. The items cover crypto asset offerings, amendments to financial responsibility and reporting rules for broker-dealers that custody or trade crypto assets, and market-structure rules for digital asset trading on alternative trading systems and national securities exchanges. The three initiatives are listed at the initial rule stage, meaning they are proposals rather than final rules and do not carry immediate enforcement changes. Their inclusion on the formal agenda nevertheless signals that the agency has committed resources to developing them. SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the effort is part of a push to make the United States the “crypto capital of the world” by creating “clear rules of the road for capital raising with crypto assets” and facilitating onchain trading and custody. The agenda items build on a joint SEC-CFTC interpretive release issued in March 2026 that introduced a five-category taxonomy for digital assets: digital commodities, collectibles, tools, stablecoins and securities. That framework drew a clearer line around which tokens may fall outside the SEC’s jurisdiction, while the new agenda items focus on regulatory details for digital assets that do fall within the agency’s remit. The broader 2026 agenda also continues to emphasize public-market reform and wider access to private markets.