SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said Friday that the agency is considering changes to how securities regulations apply to blockchain-based financial markets and artificial intelligence-powered financial applications, as digital asset firms increasingly move their trading and settlement activities on-chain.
Speaking at the AI+ Expo in Washington, Atkins said the SEC is considering establishing formal rules around on-chain trading systems, blockchain settlement infrastructure, automated financial applications and cryptocurrency vaults that increasingly blur the lines between traditional players.
He argued that existing securities rules were designed around traditional market intermediaries such as brokers, exchanges and clearinghouses, while newer blockchain systems often combine those functions into a single software protocol. Atkins’ predecessor, Gary Gensler, had held a similar view, although he focused more on the centralized exchanges that the SEC said provided those different functions under one roof at the time, primarily through lawsuits.
“A single protocol can execute a trade, manage collateral, route liquidity, execute trading strategies across vault structures, and settle the transaction,” Atkins said.
“We must remember that on-chain market structures today are often hybrid in nature, combining elements of what is often called ‘traditional’ and ‘decentralized’ finance,” he said. “We must clarify how the Commission views the spectrum of models that our statutes may entail through rulemaking on notice and comment, using our waiver authorities where necessary and prudent.”
Atkins’ comments highlighted the latest step in the regulatory agency’s shift away from a strong enforcement approach under former Chairman Gary Gensler. Under President Donald Trump’s administration, the SEC has issued cryptocurrency-related staff guidance, inaction measures, and public statements aimed at reducing legal uncertainty for digital asset companies.
The president framed the potential changes as part of a broader shift toward automated, AI-driven financial infrastructure. He argued that AI agents will increasingly participate in markets and financial decision-making at machine speed, while blockchain rails allow those systems to move value instantly.
The SEC, he said, should avoid locking emerging technologies into outdated rules.
“Our job is to set the rules of the game and referee the game, not to pick the winning team,” Atkins said.
He also reiterated his support for Congressional efforts to pass cryptocurrency 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).
