U.S. News: Regulators Are Ready to Lay Out Crypto Rules

“President Trump's regulators said they were ready to lay out rules that would help foster the crypto industry's growth after legislation on the matter ran into an unexpected setback.

 

"In the long term, it's better to have legislation," Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins told The Wall Street Journal. He expects the legislation to pass this year, but added that "we can make do with our authority."

 

In a joint interview with the Journal, Atkins and Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig spoke about their efforts to craft regulations and divvy up oversight of the crypto industry. Their agencies expect to sign a memorandum of understanding to formalize their cooperation.

 

Earlier this month, a Senate committee was preparing to mark up the Clarity Act, a landmark bill that laid out a framework for regulating the crypto industry. Then Coinbase pulled its support for the legislation over a fight with banks on provisions relating to rewards paid on stablecoins. The surprise opposition ultimately led to the Senate Banking Committee postponing the markup.

 

At an event on Thursday, the SEC and the CFTC planned to release new details on how they will collaborate on oversight. Their joint efforts down the line could include deciding which assets fall under each agency's jurisdiction, an issue regulators have clashed over in the past. The agencies, which are consulting Congress on the Clarity Act, said they expect any forthcoming rules to align with legislation.

 

"We need to work out a clear taxonomy and stick within our lanes when it comes to enforcement," said Selig.

 

Atkins said the SEC may focus on building a regulatory framework around tokenized securities, while the CFTC focuses on digital assets that regulators view as akin to digital collectibles or commodities.

 

The collapse of crypto exchange FTX in 2022 intensified scrutiny and skepticism of the industry from the Biden regulators. Atkins and Selig blamed their predecessors' approach because they said it pushed firms like FTX offshore. Headquartered in the Bahamas, FTX didn't register its exchange with the SEC and wasn't subject to examinations by the agency.

 

Atkins and Selig are taking a different approach. Atkins, for instance, has spoken about granting industry players an "innovative exemption" that would allow them to bring new tokens or technology to market without having to wait for approval from regulators.

 

"People want certainty and the biggest enemy of new products and innovation is a lack of certainty," Atkins told the Journal.” [1]

 

1. U.S. News: Regulators Are Ready to Lay Out Crypto Rules. Tokar, Dylan.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 30 Jan 2026: A4.