Comments on the SEC’s offering proposal are due Oct. 20. SEC Chair Paul Atkins said Aug. 18 that Congress must provide a durable framework for crypto rules.
Issued Aug. 18 under the name “Regulation Crypto Assets,” the draft would allow eligible issuers to use one of two offering exemptions. One would cover no more than $5 million in offerings over four years; the other would allow as much as $75 million during any 12-month period. The proposal also includes a safe harbor available when specified conditions are met.
Issuers using either route would have to submit narrative disclosures. Those choosing the $75 million exemption would also need to provide financial statements and ongoing reports. Federal prohibitions on fraud and market manipulation would remain in force for both groups. The SEC has not adopted the plan as a final rule.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins has presented the proposal as one part of a wider effort to settle U.S. crypto rules. In an Aug. 18 statement, he said Congress must supply a durable framework while the agency addresses narrower questions within its authority. Atkins wrote, “The SEC has and will continue to support Congress in delivering the CLARITY Act to President Trump’s desk.”
Atkins said existing SEC rules were not designed for crypto assets and argued the prior approach held back capital formation and drove investment abroad. He also cited Commissioner Hester Peirce’s 2020 safe-harbor proposal as a precedent.
On Sept. 15, senators voted 49-50 against a procedural motion that would have let the chamber begin considering H.R. 3633, the CLARITY Act; one senator did not vote. The failed cloture vote defeated the bid to begin consideration; it was not a final vote on passage.
Public comments on the SEC proposal are due Oct. 20.
