Enforcement and crackdowns have long characterized the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) stance on cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. After years of standoffs, its new willingness to engage with the crypto industry could mark the start of a genuine experiment in regulatory change.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins designated crypto and tokenization as the agency’s “job one” priority, marking a move toward a pro-innovation stance.
The agency’s previous chair, Gary Gensler, wielded enforcement as his primary tool. Under Atkins, however, the agency seems to be asking a different question: how to let innovation thrive while maintaining oversight.
Gensler-led SEC: Enforcement as policy
Gensler treated most cryptocurrencies as “securities” and centered his crypto regulation strategy on aggressive enforcement and litigation.
During Gensler’s tenure, the SEC filed over 125 crypto-related enforcement actions and obtained a total monetary settlement, according to the report. About 64% were non-fraudulent actions alleging unregistered securities offering violations, and 37% were unanimously approved by the Commissioners.
Between late 2020 and 2024, the SEC filed a string of lawsuits against several high-profile crypto firms, including Ripple (December 2020), Bittrex (April 2023), Coinbase (June 2023), Binance (June 2023), and Kraken (November 2023), alleging violations such as unregistered securities offerings and operating unlicensed exchanges.
Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, Stuart Alderoty, criticized Gensler “prejudged crypto,” pursuing lawsuits against crypto firms “without investigation,” stifling the industry’s growth in the US.
The enforcement-heavy environment in the U.S. led some crypto businesses to exit the market. Some firms, despite being registered with the SEC, struggled to stay afloat under the strict regulations.
Atkins-led SEC: Innovation as strategy
Following Gensler’s departure in January 2025 and before Atkins’ arrival, Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda announced the creation of the Crypto Task Force, which is led by Commissioner Hester Peirce. The task force’s goal was to take a balanced approach to the cryptocurrency and digital asset sector rather than prioritizing only enforcement. A significant policy shift occurred in January 2025 when the SEC rescinded Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121. It eased barriers for financial institutions offering crypto custodial services.
Since taking office in April 2025, Atkins has led the SEC to begin withdrawing or pausing select crypto lawsuits. In July 2025, the agency launched Project Crypto to “modernize the securities rules and regulations” and enable U.S. financial markets to operate on-chain.
At DC Fintech Week on October 15, the pro-crypto SEC chair emphasized the objective of building a future-proof crypto framework “to actually attract people back into the United States who may have fled.” By jokingly dubbing the SEC a “Securities and Innovation Commission” at the Forum, he signaled the agency’s innovation-friendly agenda.
Ultimately, the SEC, led by Atkins, plans to initiate rulemaking around its “innovation exemption” vision by the end of 2025 or early 2026, depending on the status of the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.
