SEC Chair Paul Atkins says many ICO categories are outside SEC oversight

He made the remarks at the Blockchain Association’s policy summit, responding to a question from Decrypt.

Atkins referenced a token taxonomy he introduced in November 2025 that organizes crypto assets into four groups: network tokens, digital collectibles, digital tools, and tokenized securities. He said ICOs involving the first three types – network tokens, collectibles, and tools – should be considered non‑securities transactions. By contrast, ICOs for tokenized securities would remain within the SEC’s remit because they represent instruments already regulated under federal securities laws.

“Those sorts of things would not fall … into the definition of a security,” Atkins said, adding that the commodities regulator would have a role for non‑securities tokens. He said the SEC would focus on tokenized securities while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission handles areas within its mandate.

The position signals a potential shift from enforcement actions that followed the 2017 ICO boom, when the SEC brought cases alleging unregistered securities sales. Under Atkins’s taxonomy, many token launches could proceed outside the SEC’s regime provided they fit the non‑securities categories and comply with other applicable rules.

Atkins also pointed to the SEC’s “Project Crypto,” announced in July 2025, as a possible path to exemptions or safe harbors for compliant offerings. He emphasized that any carve‑outs would be defined by the agency and tied to clear criteria.

Industry activity has accelerated alongside the policy discussion. In November 2025, Coinbase launched a platform for U.S. retail access to token launches after acquiring fundraising service Echo for $375 million in October. Exchanges and issuers are watching whether an eventual market‑structure bill further clarifies the split of responsibilities between the SEC and the CFTC.

According to Atkins, tokens that enable participation in a decentralized network, reference cultural items such as internet memes or characters, or provide a functional utility such as tickets or memberships are examples that, in his view, do not constitute securities on their own. He said the agency will continue to evaluate offerings case by case within the outlined framework.

As GNcrypto reported on 12 November 2025, Atkins previewed this approach at the Philadelphia Fed’s fintech event, outlining a Howey‑based token taxonomy and stressing that a token’s status can evolve as networks decentralize. He said the plan would not relax enforcement (“Fraud is fraud”) and asked staff to explore exemptions and pathways for tokens tied to investment contracts to trade on non‑SEC venues, including CFTC‑registered platforms or state regimes, in parallel with market‑structure bills moving in Congress.