Regulation ·
Comments close on the SEC's “Regulation Crypto Assets”
The proposal would let crypto projects raise money without full registration. Wall Street groups and crypto firms both asked for changes.
What happened
The public comment period for the SEC's proposed “Regulation Crypto Assets” closed on October 20, 2026. More than 100 submissions had been filed.
The proposal, released in August, would exempt certain crypto offerings from registration: a “startup” exemption of up to $5 million and a “fundraising” exemption of up to $75 million per 12 months, plus a conditional safe harbor.
The Hyperliquid Policy Center supports the rule but asked the SEC to state that airdrops given for nothing in return are not securities, and said the safe harbor is too narrow. The Alternative Investment Management Association asked for clearer disclosure of investors' rights and risks. SIFMA said investor protection must be addressed now, especially because the framework runs for five years.
Separately, an SEC “innovation exemption” for tokenized securities venues is already in effect and runs through September 17, 2031.
Plus a conditional safe harbor. Comment period closed October 20, 2026.
My take Opinion, not advice.
Rules written by an agency, not by Congress, can be rewritten by the next agency. That's the part I'd underline.
For traders, clearer rules usually mean more listings, more products and more liquidity over time. They don't mean any single token gets safer.
What I'm watching
- What the final rule keeps from the proposal
- How airdrops end up being treated
- Whether market-structure legislation returns in 2027
Source: The Block, “Crypto firms, Wall Street push SEC to revise Regulation Crypto Assets as comments close”, October 20, 2026; Baker Botts, “CFTC Launches Crypto Market Structure Rulemaking as SEC Advances Its Own Digital Asset Framework”, October 2026.