Wall Street's landscape could be reshaped permanently by the SEC's upcoming initiative, "Project Crypto," involving Bitcoin.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled a new initiative named "Project Crypto" to modernize American financial markets by transitioning them to blockchain technology. The goal is to make the U.S. the global leader in crypto innovation and on-chain financial markets, as envisioned by President Trump.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has stated that the project aims to facilitate the growth of "super-apps" like WeChat and Alipay, using an "efficient licensing structure". This move is part of a broader trend of interest in tokenization, which involves creating digital representations of real-world assets like stocks, real estate, or other values, on a blockchain and making them tradable.
Crypto platforms like Robinhood, Gemini, and Kraken are already offering tokenized stocks to customers outside the U.S., and Coinbase is seeking SEC approval to offer a similar service in the U.S. The trend is set to continue, with pioneers like Coinbase, established giants such as BlackRock, and Bitcoin itself expected to benefit significantly from this direction.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink described tokenizing every financial asset as the "deciding step in the technological revolution in financial markets." The SEC's "Project Crypto" is providing a clear, growth-friendly direction for the crypto sector.
Key components of the project include allowing tokenization of traditional securities under updated rules, enabling the use of "on-chain software" (including decentralized finance protocols) in securities markets without mandating intermediaries, and introducing a new "innovation exemption" to accelerate commercial deployment of novel blockchain-based financial products without excessive regulatory burdens.
The SEC under Chairman Atkins is explicitly moving away from the older punitive "regulation-by-enforcement" approach to a flexible, innovation-supporting posture aligned with recommendations from the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets (PWG). This initiative is poised to transform American financial markets by embedding blockchain technology into the core infrastructure of capital markets, supporting capital formation via crypto, and positioning the U.S. as the "crypto capital of the world".
The regulatory modernization includes updating rules like Regulation NMS to accommodate tokenized securities trading and reducing uncertainties that hampered crypto entrepreneurs. Atkins has directed the commission's staff to update outdated rules and regulations to accommodate on-chain software systems in securities markets.
Boersenmedien AG, a publisher, has a direct stake in nxtAssets GmbH, the issuer of the "nxtAssets Bitcoin direct ETP" and "nxtAssets Ethereum direct ETP". These products allow investors to buy Bitcoin or Ethereum as simply as buying a stock.
The pressure on regulatory bodies like the SEC to adapt to these changes has been building for months. Coinbase, a crypto platform, has recently introduced a super-app. However, no specific details about super-apps are provided in this context. Atkins wants to encourage innovative companies in the U.S. and not drive them abroad with excessive bureaucracy.
Mr. Bernd Foertsch, the management and majority shareholder of the publisher Boersenmedien AG, has a potential conflict of interest in Bitcoin and the U.S. Dollar, but the focus of "Project Crypto" remains on fostering innovation, regulatory certainty, and bringing crypto asset markets back into the U.S. regulatory and economic ecosystem.
The SEC's "Project Crypto" intends to hasten the growth of super-apps, similar to WeChat and Alipay, by adopting an efficient licensing structure, which is a significant part of the trend in tokenization. As BlackRock's CEO, Larry Fink, puts it, this move represents the decisive step in the technological revolution in financial markets, with crypto platforms like Coinbase and established financial giants such as BlackRock set to benefit significantly.
The SEC's initiative aims to facilitate the tokenization of traditional securities, promote the use of on-chain software in securities markets, and institute a new innovation exemption to minimize regulatory burdens for novel blockchain-based financial products. This shift signals a departure from the punitive "regulation-by-enforcement" approach to a flexible, innovation-supporting posture.
