U.S. SEC Chair Paul Atkins mentioned crypto’s time has come, pledging to modernize the U.S. securities rulebook and develop “Venture Crypto” to deliver markets on-chain.

Talking in Paris on Sept. 10 on the OECD’s inaugural Roundtable on International Monetary Markets, Atkins mentioned the SEC is shifting away from enforcement-driven policymaking and can present clear guidelines for tokens, custody, and buying and selling platforms. “Coverage will not be set by advert hoc enforcement actions,” he mentioned, calling the brand new strategy “a golden age of economic innovation on U.S. soil.”

Atkins mentioned most tokens are usually not securities and promised bright-line guidelines for figuring out when crypto belongings fall beneath SEC oversight. He mentioned entrepreneurs should have the ability to elevate capital on-chain with out “countless authorized uncertainty” and pledged a framework for platforms that combine buying and selling, lending, and staking beneath one license. Custody guidelines may also be up to date to permit buyers and intermediaries a number of choices.

The SEC chair mentioned Venture Crypto would clear the best way for tokenized securities, new on-chain asset lessons, and decentralized finance software program, whereas guaranteeing investor protections. He additionally highlighted the potential for “super-app” buying and selling platforms and burdened the significance of retaining innovation in the US.

Atkins first unveiled Venture Crypto on July 31, 2025, in Washington, framing it because the SEC’s “north star” in supporting President Trump’s objective of constructing the U.S. the world’s crypto hub. His Paris remarks expanded on that agenda, outlining extra particulars on custody, capital formation, and platform guidelines.

Atkins’ remarks got here two days after Nasdaq President Tal Cohen posted on LinkedIn that tokenization is an “extraordinary alternative” for world markets. Cohen mentioned Nasdaq had filed with the SEC to allow buying and selling of tokenized securities, underscoring how main establishments are transferring towards blockchain adoption.

Past crypto, Atkins addressed overseas firm listings, accounting requirements, and European regulation. He raised considerations over “double materiality” in EU reporting legal guidelines, urged secure funding for the IASB, and mentioned the SEC might revisit its 2007 resolution to permit IFRS with out reconciliation to U.S. GAAP if funding points persist.

The SEC chair additionally highlighted synthetic intelligence as a power that would basically reshape monetary markets. He described a shift towards “agentic finance,” the place autonomous AI programs might execute trades, allocate capital, and handle danger at speeds no human can match, with compliance embedded straight into their code.

Such programs, he mentioned, might ship quicker and cheaper markets whereas opening superior methods to a broader set of buyers. Coupled with blockchain infrastructure, these instruments might empower people, enhance competitors, and unlock new progress.

Atkins cautioned, nevertheless, that regulators should present “commonsense guardrails” with out overreacting out of worry. He argued that on-chain capital markets and AI-driven finance are on the horizon, and that America should select management to make sure the subsequent era of economic innovation takes root at dwelling.

Atkins concluded by saying regulators should strike a stability between innovation and investor safety. “Crypto’s time has come,” he mentioned, including that U.S. markets ought to lead the subsequent wave of economic innovation fairly than watching it unfold abroad.