The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed Regulation Crypto Assets is moving toward a pivotal public-comment deadline on October 20. The agency formally proposed the 145-page framework on August 18 and published it in the Federal Register on August 21, triggering a 60-day comment period under File No. S7-2026-27.
The proposal would establish two new exemptions from Securities Act registration requirements for crypto fundraising. A startup exemption would let issuers raise up to $5 million over four years, while a broader fundraising exemption would allow up to $75 million per 12-month period with additional financial-statement and ongoing reporting requirements. Both routes would require principles-based disclosures and would keep issuers subject to antifraud and antimanipulation provisions.
A proposed investment-contract safe harbor could allow a crypto asset to cease being treated as an investment contract once its issuer has completed or permanently stopped the essential managerial efforts it previously represented or promised, provided other conditions are satisfied. The plan would also preempt certain state securities registration and qualification requirements for exempt offerings and specified secondary-market transactions.
The deadline is especially notable because SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, who chairs the agency’s Crypto Task Force, is set to leave in November to become an associate professor at Regent University School of Law. Peirce has promoted crypto safe-harbor ideas since February 2020, and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins credited her work when announcing the proposal. Her departure would leave the commission with only Atkins and Commissioner Mark Uyeda unless additional commissioners are confirmed.
At the same time, the Senate failed on September 15 to advance the CLARITY Act. The procedural vote was 49-50, short of the 60 votes needed. Bernstein analysts led by Gautam Chhugani said they expect the SEC and CFTC to pursue specific rule-making aggressively and swiftly, covering native token classification, DeFi and self-custody protections, and equity tokenization. They also see room for faster approvals of real-world-asset perpetual futures and coordination on single-stock perpetuals.
Bernstein added that the failed legislation leaves the stablecoin rewards framework unchanged, meaning platforms such as Coinbase can continue offering rewards on idle balances. StoneX Financial analysts said the bill is dead for this Congress and noted that the next realistic legislative window may not come until 2030. StoneX also highlighted proposed OCC and FDIC rules that could treat payments to affiliates that reward stablecoin holders as violating the GENIUS Act issuer yield ban, an issue that could end up in court once GENIUS takes effect in January 2027.
