Atkins says SEC’s Regulation Crypto Assets package is at White House OIRA review
The proposal would add startup and fundraising exemptions plus an investment-contract safe harbor for issuers.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the agency’s “Regulation Crypto Assets” proposal is now under review at the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The procedural step puts formal publication and a public comment window more clearly on the near-term path, even as key dollar thresholds remain unspecified.
Key Takeaways
- The SEC’s “Regulation Crypto Assets” proposal has reached White House OIRA review, which Chair Paul Atkins described as the step before publication.
- The package is framed around three pillars: a startup exemption, a separate fundraising exemption, and an investment-contract safe harbor for token issuers.
- The startup pathway is described as allowing fundraising over a four-year period with softer disclosure requirements, but the dollar cap has not been specified.
- A 12-month fundraising exemption is also described, preserving an issuer’s ability to use other registration exemptions, with the amount limit still undefined.
Atkins: Regulation Crypto Assets Is at OIRA Now
SEC Chair Paul Atkins said Monday at the Digital Assets and Emerging Technology Policy Summit that the agency’s “Regulation Crypto Assets” proposal is “at OIRA right now,” calling it the next step before the proposal is published. He added, “We will have reg crypto that we will be proposing here shortly.”
OIRA, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, sits inside the White House review process for draft federal regulations. In the SEC’s typical rulemaking sequence described alongside Atkins’ remarks, a formal proposal is approved, sent to OIRA for review, then published in the Federal Register, which starts the public comment period.
For markets, the key point is procedural, not philosophical. Moving to OIRA is a concrete milestone that usually precedes Federal Register publication, which is when the rulemaking becomes fully market-visible and the comment clock begins.
Inside the Package: Startup Exemption, Fundraising Exemption, and an Investment-Contract Safe Harbor
Atkins described “Regulation Crypto Assets” as a three-part package aimed at creating defined routes for token issuers to raise capital under exemptions and safe-harbor-style conditions.
First is a startup exemption. As described, it would allow projects to raise up to a defined amount over a four-year period with softer disclosure requirements. The SEC has not specified the dollar threshold in the description provided.
Second is a fundraising exemption. This pathway is described as allowing issuers to raise a defined amount over 12 months while “retaining the ability to rely on other exemptions from registration under the federal securities laws.” The amount cap was also not specified.
Third is an investment contract safe harbor for issuers. The safe harbor is described as protecting certain assets from being defined as a security once the project team has ceased all managerial efforts it “represented or promised” as part of the investment contract. That phrasing is likely to become a focal point because it ties potential relief to how the SEC ultimately defines and tests “managerial efforts,” and what it means to cease them.
Atkins also said the SEC wants to “hear from the marketplace” to make the package “workable,” signaling that the agency is positioning the proposal for feedback-driven iteration once it reaches the comment stage.
How the SEC-to-OIRA-to-Federal Register Sequence Sets the Market’s Timing
Traders tend to overprice narratives and underprice process. The OIRA step matters because it narrows the timing window to the next market-relevant milestone: Federal Register publication.
Once a proposal is published in the Federal Register, the public comment period begins. That is when issuers, exchanges, and market structure players typically start lobbying in public, and when language around exemptions and safe harbors can shift in response to feedback.
The missing numbers are not a footnote, but they are not the timing driver. The timing driver is when the text becomes official enough for market participants to model around it, and that generally starts at publication.
Milestones That Could Move the Narrative Next
The first catalyst is OIRA review completion followed by publication in the Federal Register, which would start the public comment clock.
The second is any SEC release that specifies the dollar thresholds for the four-year startup exemption and the 12-month fundraising exemption. Those caps will determine whether the exemptions are niche tools for early-stage projects or meaningful rails for larger token distributions.
The third is updated language on the investment-contract safe harbor, especially how the SEC defines or tests “managerial efforts” that were “represented or promised.” That definition will shape how issuers think about decentralization timelines, disclosures, and ongoing commitments.
Finally, further remarks from Atkins on when the SEC will propose the rule “shortly” after OIRA review could reset expectations around how quickly the process moves from internal review to a public, tradable regulatory catalyst.
Why This Procedural Step Matters More Than the Missing Numbers
I treat OIRA review as the first hard timestamp in a story that otherwise trades on vibes. It does not guarantee adoption, but it does suggest the SEC is moving toward a formal, market-visible phase where language gets stress-tested in public and the comment process can force clarity.
The threshold that matters is Federal Register publication. If that hits and the exemptions arrive with usable caps and a workable definition of “managerial efforts,” the setup starts to look structural rather than narrative-driven, because it gives issuers and venues a clearer compliance path that can change listing and fundraising behavior in practice.
