- Paul S. Atkins, SEC Commissioner, advocated for regulatory reforms to support blockchain and DeFi, emphasizing their transformative potential and alignment with American principles like economic liberty and innovation .
- He criticized the Biden administration’s approach to crypto for stifling innovation through legal threats and regulatory ambiguity, while praising the SEC’s clarification that activities like mining and staking are not securities, though urging formal rulemaking.
- He proposed an “innovation exemption” to create a conditional regulatory framework,
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commissioner Paul S Atkins called for sweeping regulatory reforms to accommodate blockchain and decentralized finance (DeFi) technologies.
The commissioner acknowledged the transformative potential of blockchain and campaigned for regulatory clarity at a high-profile roundtable titled “DeFi and the American Spirit”. The event, organized by the SEC’s Crypto Task Force was moderated by Former SEC Commissioner Troy Parades.
Commissioner Atkins emphasized that DeFi embodies core American principles like economic liberty, private property rights, and technological innovation.
He referred to blockchain as “revolutionary innovation” that challenges traditional finance’s centralized model.
“Blockchain technology enables the ownership and transfer of digital assets without reliance on intermediaries,” he said.
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Atkin’s speech severely criticised the Biden administration’s approach to crypto, saying they stifled innovation through legal threats and regulatory ambiguity.
The commissioner went on to applaud SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance for clarifying that voluntary participation in decentralized networks such as mining, validating, or staking does not fall under existing securities laws.
However, the commission highlighted that “this clarification lacks the force of law” and urged the SEC to adopt formal rulemaking.
Paul S Atkins defended the right of individuals to store and control their own digital assets saying, “The right to self custody one’s private property is a foundational American value that should not disappear when one logs onto the internet”.
The commissioner proposed a new “innovation exemption” , a conditional regulatory framework with the aim facilitating innovation. This framework would allow developers to bring on-chain products to market more rapidly.
“An innovation exemption could help fulfill President Trump’s vision to make America the crypto capital of the planet,” it said, referencing president Trump’s pro-crypto stance.