SEC Chairman Atkins Signals Major Shift: Potential Token Taxonomy and Evolving Application of Howey Test to Crypto Assets
In an address delivered on November 12, 2025 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) Chairman Paul S. Atkins outlined the next phase of the SEC’s “Project Crypto,” advocating for clarity and fairness in the regulation of digital assets. The speech implicitly critiqued the SEC’s approach to crypto regulation during the Gensler era, suggesting that it created unnecessary obstacles to U.S. innovation in the sector. Chairman Atkins, building on SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce’s foundational work, previewed a potential token taxonomy grounded in SEC v. W.J. Howey Co., 328 U.S. 293 (1946), that could categorize many crypto assets as non-securities, potentially bringing the…
