SEC Chair Signals New Rules for Blockchain Trading and AI Finance
SEC Chair Paul Atkins said Friday the agency is considering formal rulemaking for onchain trading systems, blockchain settlement infrastructure, and crypto vaults as financial firms move more activity onto blockchains and deploy AI-powered applications.
Speaking at the AI+ Expo in Washington, Atkins outlined a core regulatory problem: existing securities rules were built around traditional intermediaries like brokers, exchanges, and clearinghouses. Blockchain protocols, by contrast, combine those functions into a single piece of software.
"A single protocol can execute a trade, manage collateral, route liquidity, execute trading strategies through vault structures and settle the transaction," Atkins said.
Why Existing Rules Don't Fit
Current regulations assume separate entities handle different market functions. An exchange executes trades. A clearinghouse settles them. A vault custodian holds assets. Blockchain systems blur those boundaries.
Atkins' predecessor, Gary Gensler, held a similar view but pursued enforcement actions against centralized exchanges instead of formal rulemaking. Atkins is signaling a different path: clarity through notice-and-comment rulemaking rather than lawsuits.
"Onchain market structures today are often hybrid in nature, combining elements of what are often referred to as traditional and decentralized finance," Atkins said. "We should clarify how the Commission views the spectrum of models that may implicate our statutes."
AI and Market Speed
Atkins framed the potential regulatory changes as part of a broader shift toward AI for Finance and automated financial infrastructure. AI Agents & Automation will increasingly participate in markets and financial decision-making at machine speed, he said, while blockchain networks enable instant value transfer.
The SEC should avoid forcing emerging technologies into outdated regulatory boxes, Atkins argued. "Our job is to set the rules of play and referee the game, not to pick the winning team," he said.
Broader Regulatory Shift
Atkins' comments reflect the SEC's pivot away from the enforcement-focused approach under the Trump administration. The agency has issued staff guidance, no-action letters, and public statements aimed at reducing legal uncertainty for digital asset firms.
Atkins also reiterated support for congressional efforts to pass crypto market structure legislation, including the CLARITY Act, which would divide regulatory authority over digital assets between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
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