SEC Launches Project Crypto to Modernize Financial Markets with Blockchain

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is making a decisive leap into the blockchain era with Project Crypto, an ambitious initiative aimed at modernizing financial markets. Chair Paul Atkins unveiled the plan at the America First Policy Institute, signaling a shift from analog-era regulations to a framework tailored for digital assets. The project seeks to migrate Core market infrastructure—trading, custody, and fundraising—onto public and permissioned blockchains.

Atkins criticized outdated rules that fail to accommodate crypto's unique mechanics, emphasizing the need for a new rulebook. The SEC will also clarify which tokens qualify as securities, addressing a long-standing industry pain point. "U.S. markets can't thrive with 20th-century tools in a 21st-century ecosystem," Atkins remarked, framing the move as a bid to position the U.S. as the global crypto capital.