SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said Friday that the agency is considering changes to how securities rules apply to blockchain-based financial markets and AI-powered financial applications as digital asset firms increasingly move trading and settlement activity on-chain.
Speaking at the AI+ Expo in Washington, Atkins said the SEC is considering formal rulemaking around onchain trading systems, blockchain settlement infrastructure, automated financial applications and crypto boxes that are increasingly blurring the lines between traditional players.
Existing securities regulations were designed around traditional market intermediaries such as brokers, exchanges and clearing houses, he argued, while newer blockchain systems often combine these functions into a single software protocol. Atkins’ predecessor, Gary Gensler, had taken a similar stance, though he focused more on centralized exchanges, which the SEC argued provided those various functions under one roof at the time, mostly through litigation.
“A single protocol can execute a trade, manage collateral, route liquidity, execute trading strategies through vault structures and settle the transaction,” Atkins said.
“We should remember that onchain market structures today are often hybrid in nature, combining elements of what are often referred to as ‘traditional’ and ‘decentralized’ finance,” he said. “We should clarify how the Commission views the range of models that might implicate our statutes, through notice and comment rules, using our waiver authorities where necessary and prudent.”
Atkins’ remarks highlighted the latest step in the regulatory agency’s pivot away from the enforcement-heavy approach under former chairman Gary Gensler. Under President Donald Trump’s administration, the SEC has issued crypto-related staff guidance, relief and public statements aimed at reducing legal uncertainty for companies with digital assets.
The chairman framed the potential changes as part of a broader shift towards an AI-powered and automated financial infrastructure. He argued that artificial intelligence agents will increasingly participate in markets and financial decision-making at machine speed, while blockchain rails allow these systems to move value instantly.
The SEC, he said, should avoid locking new technologies into outdated rules.
“Our job is to set the rules and referee the game, not pick the winning team,” Atkins said.
He also reiterated support for congressional efforts to pass crypto market structure legislation, including the CLARITY Act, which would establish a regulatory framework for digital assets shared between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
