Crypto Safe Harbor Proposal Moves Closer to Approval as SEC Signals Regulatory Shift

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is close to formally publishing a proposed crypto safe harbor framework after Chair Paul Atkins said the plan has advanced to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for White House review, the final required administrative stage before release.

If published, the proposal would mark the first time US regulators have outlined a defined route for crypto startups to raise capital without full securities registration while their networks are still developing. Atkins said the framework is expected shortly.

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Three Pathways for Crypto Startups

The plan sets out three pathways aimed at reducing compliance pressure before a project becomes decentralised enough for its token to fall outside securities treatment. 

One startup exemption would let early-stage projects raise about US$5 million (AU$7.25 million) over four years without registering with the SEC, as long as they meet disclosure standards intended to protect investors. 

A second exemption would cover larger fundraising rounds of up to about US$75 million (AU$108.75 million) a year under stricter disclosure requirements.

A third pathway, described as an investment contract safe harbor, would create a clearer standard for when a digital asset stops being treated as a security as a network matures and the original issuer’s control declines. 

SEC and CFTC

All three measures remain proposals and would still need to go through formal rulemaking.

The framework builds on interpretive guidance issued jointly by the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission on March 17, 2026. 

That release replaced the SEC’s 2019 FinHub framework and identified four types of crypto assets that are not securities: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools and payment stablecoins.

The March guidance also said secondary market trades do not automatically carry over the securities status that may apply during an initial issuance. 

It further stated that several common crypto activities, including mining, staking, staking receipts, wrapped asset issuance and qualifying airdrops, do not amount to securities offerings.

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