The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is changing its policy regarding companies that have committed technical violations. The new head of the agency, Paul Atkins, announced that the regulator will no longer impose harsh penalties for minor violations, but will instead focus on constructive dialogue with the market.
This is reported by Business • Media
SEC’s New Approach to the Cryptocurrency Market
Paul Atkins, who took over the SEC at the end of April 2025, advocates for transparency and consistency in regulation. He emphasized the importance of clear rules for cryptocurrency market participants and stated that all genuine fraudulent or criminal activities will continue to be strictly punished. However, a more flexible approach will be applied to companies that have only committed minor technical violations.
“You can’t just suddenly come in, break down their doors and say: ‘We caught you, you’re doing something wrong and this is a technical violation.’”
Criticism of Previous Leadership and Future Plans for the SEC
Atkins criticized the previous SEC policy under Gary Gensler. According to him, under Gensler’s leadership, the agency often ignored the principles of predictability and legal certainty, imposing multi-billion dollar fines on brokers and dealers without giving them a chance to correct their mistakes. Atkins emphasized the need to systematize accounting rules and return to the practice of official notifications while adhering to the rule of law.
Additionally, the new SEC chair noted that he is against classifying most crypto assets as securities. He also promised to develop a clear regulatory framework for tokenized stocks, which is expected to provide greater transparency and stability for market participants.
It is worth noting that recently the SEC initiated a comprehensive reform of the digital asset market under the Project Crypto program. This initiative aims to create a transparent regulatory system for the entire crypto industry.