SEC Chair Paul Atkins has proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, a package of exemptions intended to provide clarity and promote crypto innovation in the United States after the CLARITY Act failed to pass a Senate cloture vote on Tuesday. John Reed Stark, founder and former chief of the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement, argues that the plan exceeds the agency’s authority under Securities Act Section 28 and Exchange Act Section 36. Stark particularly criticized a proposed safe harbor (legal protection under defined conditions) that would allow issuers to self-certify investment contracts as non-securities. He said the approach improperly transfers decisions reserved for Congress to private promoters and the SEC, invoking the major questions doctrine. Stark warned that the proposal would face federal scrutiny and could trigger a major legal challenge.