The US Securities and Exchange Commission released its Spring 2025 rulemaking agenda, offering a comprehensive update to crypto regulation alongside the easing of some traditional compliance requirements.
The agenda proposes new rules for the offer and sale of crypto assets, including exemptions and safe harbours, along with clarifications on how existing broker-dealer rules apply to digital assets. It also considers amendments to permit crypto trading on national securities exchanges and alternative trading systems.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins framed the agenda as a pivot toward innovation, capital formation, investor protection and market efficiency, marking a clear break from the previous administration’s more enforcement-centred stance.
The agenda includes plans to streamline disclosure mandates, rationalise corporate reporting disclosure practices, modernise shareholder proposal rules and reduce compliance burdens for public companies.
These proposals follow Project Crypto, announced by Atkins in July, which aims to define crypto asset classifications, support tokenised securities and integrate blockchain systems with traditional finance.
Separately, the SEC and CFTC have launched a coordinated regulatory initiative, citing the need for clarity around leveraged spot crypto trading and DeFi platforms. A joint roundtable is scheduled for September 29.
The new framework aligns with the Trump administration’s pro-crypto agenda. It departs sharply from the Biden-era efforts, under which the SEC had sued major exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance, legal actions that have since been dropped.
