SEC Chairman Paul Atkins delivered one of his clearest signals yet about the agency’s regulatory direction on May 8, telling an audience at the AI+ Expo in Washington that the Commission is preparing formal rulemaking for blockchain-based trading systems, crypto vaults, and AI-driven financial infrastructure.
The remarks mark a sharp departure from the enforcement-first approach of the prior SEC leadership and represent the most explicit commitment yet from Atkins to build a new regulatory architecture around how digital assets and artificial intelligence are reshaping financial markets.
What Atkins Said
Speaking at the AI+ Expo, Atkins confirmed the SEC is studying whether existing regulatory categories – exchanges, broker-dealers, clearing agencies – should be formally extended to cover new types of digital infrastructure. That includes onchain trading systems, which operate through smart contracts rather than centralised order books, and “crypto vaults” that generate yield for depositors.
“Finance is being rebuilt on blockchains and AI simultaneously,” Atkins said, according to remarks reported by CoinDesk and The Street. “The SEC needs rules that fit the system that actually exists, not the system that existed in 1934.”
Atkins specifically noted that the agency is evaluating advisory and securities law obligations for entities that operate yield-generating crypto vaults – a category that currently sits in a regulatory grey zone. Depending on how vaults are structured, they may constitute investment products requiring registration, or they may fall under commodity law.
Why This Is a Bigger Deal Than It Sounds
The significance of Atkins’ statement lies in what it implies about the SEC’s posture toward crypto more broadly. Under former Chair Gary Gensler, the agency argued strenuously that most crypto tokens and DeFi protocols were already covered by existing securities law – meaning operators were violating the law if they hadn’t registered.
Atkins is effectively saying that’s not the approach his SEC will take. Instead of forcing new technology into old legal boxes, the agency is preparing new boxes. That approach requires formal rulemaking – a public notice-and-comment process – rather than enforcement actions.
The practical impact:
- DeFi protocols building onchain trading infrastructure may face formal registration requirements, but with rules tailored to how they actually work
- Crypto vault operators – staking services, lending platforms, yield aggregators – will face clearer guidance on whether they’re running investment advisers or something else
- AI-driven trading systems operating on blockchain rails may need to comply with both securities and commodity regulations simultaneously
The March Joint Guidance Still Stands
In March 2026, the SEC and CFTC jointly published guidance clarifying how federal securities and commodity laws apply to crypto assets. That guidance resolved many of the basic questions about which assets are securities and which are commodities – but explicitly deferred the question of how market infrastructure operators should register and operate.
Atkins’ May 8 comments suggest the infrastructure rulemaking is the next chapter. It’s expected to be issued for public comment before year-end, with final rules potentially arriving in 2027.
Industry Reaction
The initial industry reaction to Atkins’ remarks was cautiously positive. The DeFi Education Fund called the signal “exactly what builders have been waiting for.” Several DeFi protocol operators said in public posts that a formal rulemaking process – even if it imposes new compliance requirements – is preferable to the current uncertainty.
Not everyone is optimistic. Some legal observers noted that the SEC’s last major rulemaking cycle under Gensler was both expensive and controversial, with dozens of proposed rules abandoned or challenged in court. A new cycle focused on onchain systems could face similar friction.
Crypto economy research firm Arca estimated the onchain market infrastructure rulemaking could affect.
AI in Finance: The Other Piece
Atkins also signalled the SEC’s interest in AI-driven advisory and trading systems – noting that robo-advisory and algorithmic trading regulations were written before large language models existed and may not adequately address systemic risks posed by correlated AI behaviour in markets.
That concern isn’t unique to crypto. But the overlap between AI-driven trading and blockchain-based settlement creates novel questions that no existing regulatory system fully answers. Atkins said the SEC is studying the issue with help from FINRA and the Office of Financial Research.
FAQ
What are crypto vaults and why does the SEC care about them? Crypto vaults are platforms or smart contracts that accept user deposits and generate yield – typically through lending, staking, or liquidity provision. The SEC’s concern is whether these products constitute investment contracts under the Howey Test, which would make them securities and require registration.
Will the SEC’s new rules require DeFi protocols to register? Atkins hasn’t confirmed that outcome. The rulemaking process will include public comment periods, and the final shape of any new rules won’t be known until the SEC publishes proposals – expected later in 2026.
How does this relate to the CLARITY Act? The two processes are parallel but separate. The CLARITY Act is congressional legislation; SEC rulemaking is an agency action. In theory, the CLARITY Act could override or shape some SEC rules if it passes – which is one reason the May 14 Senate markup is so closely watched.
*Sources: CoinDesk, The Street, SEC.gov, Yahoo Finance, Arca, DeFi Education Fund*
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