SEC Chairman Outlines Preliminary Digital Asset Taxonomy Under Project Crypto

On November 12, 2025, SEC Chairman Atkins delivered remarks previewing how the Securities and Exchange Commission may seek to categorize digital assets as part of Project Crypto, the Commission's ongoing initiative to develop a more transparent regulatory framework for the U.S. digital asset market. Although the comments do not constitute rulemaking and are not binding on the Commission, they provide the clearest public indication to date of the conceptual structure the SEC may use as it considers future regulation.

Chairman Atkins emphasized that digital assets do not form a single regulatory category and rejected the premise that a token involved in an investment contract "must forever be a security." Instead, the remarks advance a function-based taxonomy, grounded in "economic reality," that distinguishes among different types of digital assets based on how they operate, the rights they convey, and the expectations of market participants.