The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicated that a long-awaited proposal for coded asset rules would be published in July at the earliest. The proposal would cover the issue and sale of encrypted assets and would also provide for exemptions and “safe harbour” arrangements for part of the chain of financial activities, meaning that the operation would avoid triggering SEC enforcement under certain conditions.

July or entry for public comment

The Council ' s updated regulatory agenda for 2026 shows that the rule has been included in the potential release item in July. If it is launched as planned, it will then enter the public consultation phase.

This was the clearest timetable disclosed by the SEC to date, indicating that it was preparing to formally launch the “Regulation Crypto” proposal. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins had mentioned the plan on several previous occasions and had expressed the wish to land in January this year, but progress had been delayed.

The exemption refers to DeFi and tokenized securities

As currently disclosed, the proposal would not only regulate the issuance and sale of encrypted assets, but would also include “certain exemptions and safe havens”, which would apply to some of the chain financial activities.

It was mentioned that such arrangements might provide better enforcement boundaries for encryption companies. Areas covered include monetized securities and decentrized finance (DeFi). If the relevant activity falls within the scope of the exemption, the enterprise may avoid being subjected to SEC enforcement in a given context.

On Tuesday, Atkins stated in his statement that the SEC was trying to provide clearer rules for the financing of encrypted assets, hosting and trading in a monetized security chain, in order to facilitate the return of more products to the local United States market.

The amount and duration thresholds were previously envisaged.

Atkins mentioned in March this year that safe harbours may be applicable to several categories:

  • Early encryption start-ups valued at less than $5 million
  • Start-up project to test encrypted assets in the first four years
  • Specific investment contracts to raise up to $75 million

He also mentioned at the time that certain encrypted assets might also be included in the arrangement if they were no longer subject to critical management efforts by their creators. However, these elements remain in the direction of previous releases by the SEC, and the final version will still depend on the text of the formal proposal.

The congressional bill still affects the pace.

While the SEC promotes its own rules, the United States Congress is still considering the broader Clarity Act. If adopted, the bill would create a more complete legal framework for most encryption activities in the United States.

Atkins had previously stated that the lack of prospects for parliamentary legislation affected the pace of the introduction of the SEC's own rules. It is now widely accepted in the market that if Clarity Act fails to make a breakthrough by August, the likelihood of its adoption this year will be significantly reduced, given the proximity of the mid-November elections.