How the SEC's New Leadership Changed Crypto Regulation, 2025 to 2026

Updated October 2026, after nearly two years under new SEC leadership. First published December 2024.

We first wrote this post in December 2024, when a change of SEC chair was expected and its effect on crypto was a guess. The guessing is over. Gary Gensler stepped down on January 20, 2025. Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda launched a Crypto Task Force the next day, and Paul Atkins was sworn in as chairman on April 21, 2025. Since then, the SEC has dropped seven crypto enforcement cases brought under the prior chair, issued a formal interpretation of which crypto assets are securities, and changed how broker-dealers can hold crypto asset securities.

This update lists what the SEC actually did, from its own releases, with the broker-dealer pieces in the most detail.

The Main Actions, in Order

Enforcement: Seven Cases Dropped

Between February and May 2025, the SEC dismissed its cases against Coinbase, Cumberland DRW, Consensys, Kraken, Dragonchain, Ian Balina, and Binance. Each was a joint stipulation, and the SEC's releases said the dismissals weren't based on an assessment of the merits. In its fiscal 2025 enforcement results, the SEC called its change in approach to crypto enforcement "a necessary course correction." The Ripple case ended differently: the parties dropped their appeals in August 2025, and the final judgment, with its $125 million penalty, stayed in effect.

Fraud cases didn't go away. The 2024 judgment against Terraform Labs and Do Kwon stands, and Kwon was sentenced to 15 years in prison in December 2025. Our post on how the Terraform case ended has the details.

What Counts as a Security Now

The Commission itself weighed in on March 17, 2026, with an interpretive release that sorts crypto assets into five categories: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins, and digital securities. In Atkins's words, "most crypto assets are not themselves securities." Tokenized stocks and bonds are still securities. A January 2026 staff statement on tokenized securities said the format doesn't change how the securities laws apply.

Broker-Dealer Custody and Net Capital

This is where the operational changes are. On May 15, 2025, Trading and Markets staff withdrew the 2019 joint SEC and FINRA statement on broker-dealer custody of digital asset securities and published FAQs on crypto asset activities. The FAQs say:

• Paragraph (b) of Rule 15c3-3 applies only to securities a broker-dealer carries for customers, so crypto assets that aren't securities fall outside it.
• A broker-dealer can establish control of crypto asset securities that aren't in certificated form.
• Following the 2020 special purpose broker-dealer statement isn't mandatory. That statement was written to expire five years after publication.
• For net capital, staff won't object if a firm treats proprietary bitcoin or ether as readily marketable when applying the commodities haircut in Appendix B to Rule 15c3-1. An answer added February 19, 2026 lets a firm treat a payment stablecoin position as having a ready market, with a 2% haircut.

On December 17, 2025, staff went further. Its statement on custody of crypto asset securities says a broker-dealer may treat itself as having physical possession of a crypto asset security under Rule 15c3-3(b)(1) if it meets conditions. The firm needs direct access and the ability to transfer the asset. It has to assess the distributed ledger and network before taking custody and periodically afterward, and stay out if it knows of material problems. It must protect private keys with controls consistent with industry practice and keep written procedures for forks, 51% attacks, airdrops, lawful freeze or seizure orders, and winding down. The statement covers tokenized equity and debt. It calls itself an interim step, and Commissioner Peirce urged the staff to recommend amendments to Rule 15c3-3.

Trading Venues

On September 2, 2025, SEC and CFTC staff said in a joint statement that registered exchanges aren't prohibited from facilitating trading in certain spot crypto asset products. On September 17, 2026, the Commission issued an Innovation Exemption: temporary, conditional relief for "Tokenized Securities Venues" to trade tokenized NMS stock, with limits on symbols and volume and a five-year term. Our post on tokenized settlement at banks and DTC covers the settlement side.

Still Pending as of October 2026

• Regulation Crypto Assets, proposed August 18, 2026: offering exemptions of up to $5 million over four years and up to $75 million in 12 months, plus a safe harbor once an issuer's essential managerial efforts are complete. Comments closed October 20, 2026.
• A proposal on how investment advisers and funds can custody crypto assets, issued October 1, 2026.
• The CLARITY Act, the market structure bill. The House passed it on July 17, 2025, 294 to 134. In the Senate, cloture on the motion to proceed failed 49 to 50 on September 15, 2026.

On October 1, 2026, Atkins and Uyeda issued a statement on Commissioner Peirce's departure. It didn't name who will lead the Crypto Task Force next.

What It Means for a Broker-Dealer

Most of the custody and capital relief rests on staff statements and FAQs. They aren't Commission rules, and the staff can revise them without notice and comment. If you're building a crypto custody business, document how you meet each condition in the December 2025 statement, especially the ledger assessment, because that's the record an examiner will ask for. FINRA's 2026 oversight report still has a crypto section and still asks firms to tell FINRA about new or planned crypto activities. The SEC's fiscal 2027 exam priorities don't mention crypto at all. That shows what the Division chose not to highlight, not what it won't examine.

This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For guidance on specific regulatory obligations, consult your counsel or compliance advisor.