Atkins’ `Token Taxonomy’ Turns SEC Into a Crypto Tailwind

Isabelle Lee takes a look at what yesterday’s speech by US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins means for digital assets.

For years, crypto advocates insisted Washington was punishing new technology with old laws. This week, SEC Chair Paul Atkins effectively conceded the point. By promising a formal “token taxonomy,” he signaled that large parts of the market may no longer be treated as securities, moving away from viewing almost every digital token like a suspect stock and toward a system that sorts them into distinct legal boxes. It’s a shift that delivers the clarity the industry has long-demanded — with the potential to unleash unintended consequences that often surface long after the celebration.