The SEC’s Long-Awaited Crypto Proposal

A tailored securities offering regime for crypto assets 

After years of applying decades-old securities rules to digital assets, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a purpose-built framework for raising capital with crypto assets and, under specified conditions, allowing those assets to cease being subject to an investment contract under the federal securities laws. Although the SEC continues to coordinate with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and has acknowledged the importance of market structure legislation, Chairman Paul Atkins has made clear that the SEC is prepared to move forward under its existing authority even if Congress does not act. Accordingly, on August 18, 2026, the Commission proposed Regulation Crypto Assets (Reg CA) for a specifically defined class of investment contracts involving crypto assets, referred to as “covered investment contracts.”¹ Building on the SEC’s March 17, 2026, interpretive release (the 2026 Interpretation),² the