SEC Adds Three Crypto Rulemakings to Its 2026 Regulatory Agenda
Three separate rulemaking items just landed on the SEC’s official calendar, each targeting a different piece of how crypto actually gets bought, sold, and custodied in the United States.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission added three distinct crypto-related rulemakings to its 2026 regulatory agenda, each targeting a formal Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in July: a rule on crypto asset offerings, a rule updating broker-dealer capital and customer-protection requirements for digital assets, and a rule amending crypto market structure.
The crypto asset offerings rule addresses the offer and sale of digital assets directly, potentially including specific exemptions and safe harbors — provisions that could give certain token issuances a clearer, lower-friction path to compliance than the case-by-case enforcement approach that’s dominated much of crypto’s regulatory history in the US.
The broker-dealer rule would amend the existing net capital rule and customer protection rule that already govern traditional broker-dealers, along with related recordkeeping requirements, specifically addressing how those decades-old rules apply when a broker-dealer holds or transacts in crypto assets.
The market structure rule would amend existing Exchange Act rules covering how crypto assets can be traded on alternative trading systems and national securities exchanges, an area that’s remained genuinely ambiguous for years regarding exactly which existing rules apply to crypto trading venues.
The SEC’s own June 2026 strategic plan named digital-asset rulemaking a top agency priority, framing the goal as providing clearer rules for the issuance, custody, and trading of crypto assets while continuing separate enforcement against bad actors. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking opens a public comment period before any rule can be finalized, meaning actual implementation is likely still months or years away.
Want to understand how US securities rules have historically applied, or not applied, to crypto trading platforms? Learn more in the Bitcoin Academy.