SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the agency’s 2026 regulatory agenda aims to create clearer rules for crypto capital raising and provide guidance on custody and trading of tokenized securities onchain. The statement frames the work as a way to bring more products onshore while keeping investor protection guardrails in place.

This matters because the market is moving from enforcement-driven uncertainty toward formal rule design, but the details are not final rules yet.

The second-order risk is expectation gap: companies may begin preparing products around the direction of travel before the actual proposals, comment periods and legal challenges are complete. That can create a short window where policy optimism is ahead of operational clarity.

Next, watch the specific proposed rules, public comments and whether custody and trading venues receive workable paths to registration.