Accredited Investor System Incoming? Analyzing the SEC New Chairman's Crypto Blueprint
Original Article Title: "What Did the New SEC Chairman Say Last Night? - The Post-Crypto Era Is Coming"
Original Source: Master Brother from Down Under
Last night, Paul S. Atkins, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (aka Crypto Tsar), delivered a keynote speech at the "Tokenization: On-chain Assets - The Intersection of Traditional Finance and Decentralized Finance" roundtable. He is a key figure in the future development of the crypto industry, and as the new leader, he is someone we must understand well. So I have roughly summarized the key points of his speech and the potential impacts on the industry that may follow.
· TL;DR: He just wants to clarify the rules clearly and no longer regulate the market through "scare tactics." Everyone knows where the boundaries are, allowing the crypto industry to innovate confidently and issue tokens with peace of mind. Furthermore, he aims to make the U.S. the world's most hardcore crypto stronghold (there may be a new compliant token issuance platform - Crypto Nasdaq). If you are interested, you can read the details below or scroll to the bottom to see my speculation on the industry's potential changes.
Key Points of the Speech:
1. Clarify Rules for Crypto Asset Issuance: Atkins pointed out that existing registration forms and disclosure requirements are not well suited to the characteristics of crypto assets, leading many projects to avoid the registration process. He proposed creating new rules and exemption mechanisms to provide clear and reasonable guidance for crypto asset issuance.
2. Expand Asset Custody Options: He supports providing more crypto asset custody options for registrants, including allowing compliant self-custody under certain conditions to meet the needs of technological developments.
3. Enrich the Range of Trading Products: Atkins advocates allowing registrants to offer a wider range of trading products based on market demand, breaking the restrictions on crypto trading and promoting the integration of security and non-security asset trading.
This speech marks a significant step taken by the SEC in crypto asset regulation, providing industry participants with clearer policy expectations, signaling that the crypto market is entering a more standardized and diverse development phase.
What Kind of Impact Will It Have on Industry Participants If Implemented?
CEXs Will Further Diversify:
· U.S.-based exchanges may be the first to integrate compliance issuance gateways, such as Coinbase, which already have legal reserves and regulatory experience, and are expected to be among the first to become the "Crypto Nasdaq."
· Pan-Asian exchanges like @binance will need to make strategic choices: either accelerate international expansion and align with compliance or focus on the "non-U.S. market" to continue dominating the retail investor battlefield. In simple terms: either accept and join the regular army, or turn to raiding as bandits and become a mountain king, with no gray area in between.
· Project Team Diversion: For projects with strength, there is a high probability that they will move towards a compliant platform (later collectively referred to as Crypto Nasdaq), because mainstream funds and institutions will be more inclined to invest in projects issued on compliant platforms, driving "compliance before fundraising" to become a new paradigm. Tokens issued on compliant platforms have the opportunity to gain greater liquidity and long-term investors because compliant assets can be included in formal accounts and avoid SEC enforcement risks, making it easier for previously inaccessible institutions to enter the market — this is the new blood.
· Token Diversion: If you want to be compliant, then the nature of the token begins to have a clear legal definition. The project team must explain whether the token is "equity-based, debt-based, or utility-based," and can no longer simply use a "governance token" to get by. The valuation logic is more like that of U.S. stocks: P/E ratio, revenue sharing, regulatory compliance, and other factors become valuation anchors, and simplistic narratives and pure meme hype will be restrained. In simple terms: your token either follows the valuation logic of U.S. stocks or is completely meme-driven; don't think about playing on the edge anymore.
· Retail Investor Diversion: Retail investors can participate in initial offerings and early subscriptions through compliant platforms, but the entry threshold will be raised, possibly requiring specific products to be open only to "accredited investors" similar to the U.S. Accredited Investor. The benefit is that subsequent speculation on altcoins will be aboveboard and similar to stock speculation, no longer the self-entertainment of a niche group, possibly further expanding the participant base. Moreover, because of the clear valuation logic, the likelihood of many top projects launching with a subsequent 90% crash, as was common in the past, is greatly reduced. A new wave of initial offering wealth effect may emerge, and I will definitely be the first to register and participate.
Finally:
It seems that the Crypto Tsar is up to something big, formalizing the crypto market, which is a good thing for the crypto industry that has been around for over a decade, after all, brutal growth cannot last forever. Where there is change, there is opportunity. Are you ready?
