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Author: He Hao, Wall Street News
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched its Project Crypto program on Thursday, aiming to modernize securities rules to adapt to cryptocurrency-based trading models.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said at the conference “The United States Leads the Digital Financial Revolution” held Thursday afternoon local time: “In order to realize President Trump’s vision of making the United States a global crypto capital, the SEC must comprehensively evaluate the potential pros and cons of shifting the market from an off-chain environment to an on-chain environment.” He mentioned the blockchain technology that supports the operation of cryptocurrencies, and also has other application scenarios.
“I have directed the committee staff to update the agency’s current outdated regulations to unlock the potential of on-chain software systems in the securities market. Federal Securities Law has traditionally assumed that intermediaries’ participation needs to be regulated, but this does not mean that we have to force intermediaries in the market without the need for intermediaries.”
The above statement comes at a time when market interest in “tokenization” is rapidly heating up.Tokenization refers to issuing digital certificates on the blockchain network that can represent publicly traded securities, real assets or other forms of value.Token holders do not own the actual ownership of the asset itself.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink once said that he believes that “tokenization of every financial asset” is an important step in the technological revolution in the financial market.
Currently, crypto trading platforms Robinhood, Gemini and Kraken have all opened tokenized stock services to non-US users, and Coinbase has also said it is seeking approval from the SEC to provide similar services in the United States.
“Super App”
Atkins also highlights “super apps”, such as those launched by Coinbase two weeks ago.”Super apps” are the key direction during Atkins’ tenure, pointing out that regulators need to provide efficient licensing structures rather than allowing these applications to be overly regulated by multiple regulators.
“Super Apps” are similar to China’s WeChat and Alipay – they integrate multiple services and functions into a mobile application and are regarded as the “holy grail” of financial technology.These applications have become the core of daily life in China, but have not been successfully replicated in the Western market.Both Meta and X (formerly Twitter) have tried to integrate payment, messaging, social content and other features to achieve similar goals.
Atkins also said the Trump administration will work to prevent “innovative” companies from being forced to move overseas due to overregulation, and stressed that the SEC will encourage builders of the country rather than harboring them with red tape and one-size-fits-all rules.
The proposal comes a day after the U.S. Government Digital Asset Markets Working Group released its long-awaited report, which proposed frameworks for the SEC and other federal agencies to enhance the U.S. dominance in the digital asset market.Atkins said he has directed the SEC encryption task force (led by commissioner Hester Peirce) to work with other SEC departments to implement the recommendations.
