SEC Chair Paul Atkins formally introduced Project Crypto, a multi-agency initiative to bring U.S. financial markets onto blockchain rails. During his speech titled American Leadership and the Digital Finance Revolution, Atkins outlined a strategic effort to reshape how digital assets, securities, and market infrastructure operate in the United States. The announcement followed the White House’s release of a 166-page policy blueprint that emphasized digital asset adoption and modernization across agencies. This coordinated push signals a major change in how the federal government intends to approach blockchain, marking the first time legislative and regulatory bodies are aligned on a long-term Web3 agenda. Rather than reacting to innovation, the U.S. now aims to shape it.
BREAKING: A New Crypto Dawn Rises in the USA
— King Solomon (@IOV_OWL) July 31, 2025
SEC Announces "Project Crypto" to "Modernize" Regulations and Bring All USA Markets On-Chain
🇺🇸White House Hedera & Chainlink
🇦🇺AUDD + Hedera + RBA Upgrade Australia
🗺️Algorand 2025+
🔮XRP + Coinbase Futures
🌞XDC Hot Summer pic.twitter.com/z71ptSrkyU
Project Crypto: The SEC’s New North Star
A National Strategy to Bring Markets On-Chain
Project Crypto is not a limited task force or exploratory program. It is a commission-wide transformation effort within the SEC. According to Chair Atkins, the initiative seeks to modernize regulatory frameworks, update antiquated securities definitions, and enable a compliant digital asset economy. He cited parallels to key historical moments in U.S. market development, including the establishment of the New York Stock Exchange and the founding of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). Atkins emphasized that Project Crypto will act as the agency’s “North Star” in supporting broader federal efforts to rebuild the United States’ financial market leadership through blockchain-based infrastructure. The project is also expected to coordinate with the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets.
🏛️ Chairman @SECPaulSAtkins @SECGov just flipped the switch. Welcome, Project Crypto 🇺🇸
— Hedera (@hedera) July 31, 2025
A clearer path is taking shape for builders, investors, and innovators. Now’s the time to engage, contribute, and help shape what comes next. @WhiteHousehttps://t.co/muWU4fXgRK pic.twitter.com/40m0o2ywTV
Key Goals and Structural Changes
Several structural changes were outlined during the announcement. First, the SEC plans to introduce new rulemaking that clearly defines how tokenized securities can be created, traded, and stored in compliance with U.S. law. This includes re-evaluating long-standing frameworks like the Howey Test, which has guided securities classification since 1946. By introducing bright-line rules, the SEC aims to reduce legal ambiguity for developers and institutional issuers. Second, the initiative endorses the growth of self-custody and super apps, including platforms that allow users to manage stocks, tokenized bonds, and digital assets under a unified license. Lastly, Project Crypto proposes to integrate compliance-ready protocols—such as ERC-3643—to streamline deployment without compromising investor protection.
The GENIUS Act and Reversal of Operation Choke Point
Re-onshoring Crypto Innovation
The GENIUS Act, which became law earlier in 2025, underpins the regulatory authority for many of Project Crypto’s proposed reforms. It establishes a federal legal framework for blockchain-based activities, affirming the legality of smart contracts, validating digital asset custody, and providing clarity around the issuance of stablecoins. More importantly, the act reverses the policy consequences of Operation Choke Point, a previous federal program that restricted banking access for high-risk industries, including crypto startups. As a result, many legitimate blockchain firms moved offshore over the past decade, choosing jurisdictions with clearer rules. Project Crypto, supported by the GENIUS Act, aims to bring these businesses back by removing regulatory ambiguity and supporting responsible innovation.
Enabling Super Apps and Digital Market Infrastructure
One of the most notable goals within Project Crypto is the endorsement of integrated financial platforms, sometimes referred to as super apps. These platforms combine brokerage, banking, crypto wallets, and trading functionality into a single interface. Under current U.S. law, such platforms face significant compliance burdens, including multiple licenses across federal and state lines. Project Crypto proposes a streamlined regulatory path for these apps, including single-entity oversight and unified licensing. This could help the U.S. compete with Asian markets where platforms like Alipay and WeChat already offer integrated digital financial services. The SEC’s proposal aims to ensure that American super apps operate with full compliance while offering the same level of functionality and user control.
Policy + Tech: Standardizing Compliance Through Open Protocols
ERC-3643 and Compliance-Ready Launch Paths
A major highlight of the speech was the SEC’s recognition of open standards that support real-time compliance, including ERC-3643. This Ethereum-based token standard, originally developed by Tokeny, supports identity verification, investor whitelisting, and rule-based transfers. These features align closely with U.S. policy goals for digital securities, including anti-money laundering compliance and investor protections. By acknowledging such standards as “compliance-ready,” the SEC is signaling a willingness to allow projects using these protocols to launch under lighter regulatory scrutiny—provided they meet policy goals. This could significantly reduce legal overhead for blockchain-based securities issuers and tokenization platforms.
🇺🇸 The U.S. White House has highlighted the growing impact of tokenization in its newly released report "Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology".
— ERC3643.org (@ERC3643Org) July 31, 2025
On page 40, a market sizing chart for RWAs, provided by our member @plumenetwork, includes a small but… pic.twitter.com/VClTvnwJdV
Innovation Exemptions for Builders
Project Crypto also introduces the concept of an “innovation exemption.” Under this proposed framework, builders can launch digital asset projects in the U.S. if they use well-audited, widely adopted open standards that meet the SEC’s policy objectives. Unlike traditional exempt offerings, which still require SEC registration or limitations on investor access, these projects would be evaluated based on their adherence to technical and legal safeguards embedded in code. This would allow developers to launch tokenized platforms, decentralized applications, or DeFi protocols with greater legal certainty—without needing to relocate to crypto-friendly jurisdictions such as Switzerland, Dubai, or Singapore. The result is a more attractive environment for U.S.-based innovation and entrepreneurship.
Signs of Institutional Alignment: From In-Kind ETPs to Stablecoin Adoption
SEC Approves In-Kind Crypto ETP Redemptions
In a separate but related development, the SEC approved in-kind creation and redemption for crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs). This reverses previous decisions that allowed only cash-based ETP mechanics. In-kind mechanisms are already used in commodity ETPs such as those tracking gold or oil. They provide more efficient arbitrage, reduce transaction costs, and improve tracking accuracy. Now, Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs will benefit from these same mechanisms. This change reflects growing confidence among regulators in treating digital assets similarly to other commodities. It also improves institutional access by aligning crypto products with the operational norms of traditional fund management.
Stablecoins Gain Momentum Across Agencies
Project Crypto directly supports the inclusion of stablecoins within the U.S. financial system. Under the GENIUS Act, stablecoins that meet reserve and disclosure standards can operate under federal law. This approach mirrors global trends in stablecoin integration within regulated financial systems.
One prominent example is the selection of Hedera by Australian Payments Plus (AP+) to support the AUDD stablecoin in the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Project Acacia. This national pilot explores how digital money—including stablecoins—can enable tokenized asset settlement and interoperability with real-time payment infrastructure. Hedera’s role focuses on two core use cases: atomic settlement across tokenized assets and a stablecoin on/off-ramp linked to the NPP payment rail.
Although AUDD also operates across multiple blockchains—including Stellar, Ethereum, XRPL, Solana, and XDC—Hedera was selected specifically for the regulated wholesale financial infrastructure streams within the pilot. This reinforces its positioning as a network capable of meeting institutional-grade requirements. The SEC’s endorsement of stablecoins under Project Crypto complements this trend and may pave the way for similar pilot programs in the United States.
Strategic Conclusion: America’s Policy Reset Is Global in Impact
The launch of Project Crypto marks a fundamental reset in U.S. blockchain policy. For the first time, there is alignment across legislative, regulatory, and executive branches on how to regulate, deploy, and integrate digital assets. The GENIUS Act provides the legal foundation, while Project Crypto outlines a practical roadmap to bring capital markets on-chain. Developers now have clearer guidelines on how to build in the U.S., using standards like ERC-3643 to support compliance. Institutional investors also benefit from more efficient ETPs and legal recognition of stablecoins. While international ecosystems like Hedera, XDC, and Algorand continue to evolve, it is U.S. regulatory clarity that could unlock the next wave of adoption—both domestically and globally.
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