Crypto majors are green with SOL leading; BTC +0.5% at $64.4k
SEC proposes its first formal crypto rules with Regulation Crypto Assets
Vlad Tenev posts “Tokenized Stocks in America,” calls on politicians to modernize securities rules
Citi to introduce Bitcoin custody for its institutional clients
Bitcoin ETFs see $487M in net inflows to start the week
SEC Proposes First Formal Crypto Rules for Token Fundraising
For a decade, the SEC regulated crypto fundraising through lawsuits, suing token issuers individually without ever publishing rules that clarified what constituted legal compliance. That is now changing.
Yesterday the SEC introduced “Regulation Crypto Assets” as its first formal crypto rulemaking, establishing two pathways for selling tokens without SEC registration.
Myriad: Will the Clarity Act be signed into law in 2026? Click to make your prediction.
The smaller pathway permits a one‑time raise of up to $5 million over four years. The larger pathway allows up to $75 million in any 12‑month period, mirroring the Reg A+ Tier 2 mini‑IPO framework created by the JOBS Act. Both require principles‑based narrative disclosures akin to a whitepaper rather than a traditional registration statement, and the $75 million tier adds financial statements and ongoing reporting. The rules would also pre‑empt state registration requirements for exempt offerings and certain secondary trades.
The proposal also includes an important safe harbor provision. Under it, a qualifying token ceases to be treated as an investment contract once the issuer has completed or permanently ceased all essential managerial efforts it promised. Chairman Paul Atkins notes that the framework derives directly from the Token Safe Harbor first proposed by Commissioner Hester Peirce in February 2020, a concept the industry has long sought.
This marks a notable departure from the SEC’s historical approach. After the 2017 ICO boom, the agency deemed token sales unregistered securities offerings and began enforcement actions, a stance that has shaped market structures ever since. Teams have turned to offshore foundations, sales limited to non‑U.S. buyers, accredited‑only placements under Reg D, airdrops and points programs designed to avoid the appearance of a sale—structures born of the lack of a clear on‑shore option.
Now there are clear rules for token sales in the United States. If these proposed rules are adopted, an ICO‑style wave could follow.
Macro Crypto and Markets
Crypto majors are green again with SOL leading; BTC +0.5% at $64.5k; ETH +1% at $1,920; SOL +2% at $77.40; HYPE -2% at $58.60
Top alt movers include ZRO (+10%), GNO (+10%) and PUMP (+7%)
Oil +1% at $85.80; Gold -1% at $4,420
Stock futures are flat as oil continues to rise; DOW even, Nasdaq -0.2%
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev called on US policymakers to modernize securities rules so tokenized stocks can trade domestically, noting Robinhood’s Stock Tokens reach 190-plus US equities in over 120 countries but remain unavailable to Americans
BitBox shipped an emergency firmware update after frontier AI models helped its engineers find two severe BitBox02 flaws, with no evidence of exploitation and no funds lost
Citi will launch Bitcoin custody later this year under its new Custody+ suite, letting institutional clients hold crypto and traditional securities in the same framework
Wyoming’s Stable Token Commission migrated its FRNT stablecoin from LayerZero to Chainlink CCIP after a security review
Cypherpunk Technologies deployed the largest active Zcash mining fleet at about 18% of network hashrate, funded through a $33.33 million equity deal with Winklevoss Capital
The FBI may have identified the first-wave attackers behind July’s Coldcard exploit, after Block’s investigation found the hackers’ onchain sweeps matched request patterns logged by a paid blockchain data provider
