“In my view, very few tokens are securities, but it all depends on the terms of their offering and sale,” Atkins said - YouTube
His position contrasts with that of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who argued that most digital assets fell under the Howey test, with Bitcoin and Ethereum being the only exceptions.
Project Crypto Initiative
Atkins’ comments on classification followed the launch of Project Crypto, an initiative aimed at modernizing securities laws and integrating U.S. financial markets with blockchain.
“A new day is coming, especially for the crypto industry. We support innovation — now we want to embrace it,” the SEC chief noted.
After the symposium, Atkins emphasized that the Commission must establish a regulatory framework to protect crypto markets from arbitrary oversight in the future.
“I look forward to working with colleagues in the administration and Congress to achieve this goal,” he added.
Industry Response
Analysts at Bernstein called Project Crypto “the boldest and most transformative vision for digital assets.”
Matt Hougan, CIO at Bitwise, described it as a roadmap for investors over the next five years:
“The most optimistic crypto document I’ve ever read wasn’t written by a random commentator on X. Its author was the SEC Chair.”
Remember, earlier FORECK.INFO covered how Ripple’s XRP could challenge SWIFT as a real rival in cross-border payments.