SEC signals rulemaking for onchain markets and AI-driven finance

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SEC signals onchain finance rulemaking

Highlights

SEC Chair Paul Atkins announces potential rulemaking for blockchain-based trading, settlement, automated finance systems, and crypto vaults to address hybrid market structures.
SEC's regulatory shift under President Donald Trump emphasizes guidance, no-action relief, and reduced legal uncertainty for digital asset firms, moving away from enforcement-centric approaches.
Atkins supports congressional efforts like the CLARITY Act to establish a joint digital asset regulatory framework between the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Regulatory shift for blockchain market infrastructure

As reported by CoinDesk, SEC Chair Paul Atkins says the agency is considering formal rulemaking for blockchain-based trading systems, settlement infrastructure, automated financial applications and crypto vaults. He says current securities rules were built around traditional intermediaries such as brokers, exchanges and clearinghouses, while newer onchain systems often combine those roles within a single software protocol.

Atkins says a single protocol can execute trades, manage collateral, route liquidity, run trading strategies through vault structures and settle transactions. He adds that many onchain market structures remain hybrid, combining features of traditional finance and decentralized finance, and says the Commission should clarify how securities laws apply across that spectrum through notice-and-comment rulemaking and exemptive authority where needed.

Implications for crypto policy and automated finance

His remarks mark the latest step in the SEC's shift away from the enforcement-heavy approach associated with former Chair Gary Gensler. Under President Donald Trump's administration, the agency has issued crypto-related staff guidance, no-action relief and public statements intended to reduce legal uncertainty for digital asset firms.

Atkins frames the potential regulatory changes as part of a broader move toward automated, AI-driven financial infrastructure. He says AI agents are increasingly likely to participate in markets and financial decision-making at high speed, while blockchain rails can move value instantly, and argues the SEC should avoid forcing emerging technologies into outdated rules.

He also reiterates support for congressional efforts to advance crypto market structure legislation, including the CLARITY Act, which would create a digital asset framework shared between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

In our earlier article on Coinbase’s Q1 2026 results, we noted the company’s GAAP net loss and revenue decline, alongside a 14% workforce reduction and an AI-led operational restructuring. We also highlighted Coinbase’s push into enterprise payments through partnerships integrating AI agent-driven USDC transactions, while technical indicators pointed to range-bound trading and a focus on key support and resistance levels.

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