From SEC’s Project Crypto, what does Trump want to hype?

On July 31, Paul Atkins, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), announced a far-reaching new policy—”Project Crypto.” This chain reform plan led by the SEC has a clear goal: to completely rewrite the regulatory logic of the United States in the era of crypto assets, allowing financial markets to “move on-chain” and realize the grand vision outlined by the Trump administration—making the United States the “world crypto capital.”

The previous model of “enforcement over regulation” not only drove innovative companies in the crypto space to Singapore and Dubai but also missed the opportunity for the U.S. to lead the next generation of financial infrastructure. The launch of “Project Crypto” differs from the regulatory suppression tone of the past few years, undoubtedly sending a strong signal to the entire industry: the on-chain era in the U.S. starts now.

Regulatory Easing: DeFi Protocols like Uniswap and Aave Welcome a Golden Window

The attitudes of past SEC chairpersons towards crypto assets and their derivatives—especially DeFi (decentralized finance)—have often determined the temperature and activity level of the U.S. market. During Gary Gensler’s tenure, the SEC’s regulatory strategy was centered on “securities definition first” and “enforcement as the guideline,” emphasizing the comprehensive inclusion of token trading within the traditional securities framework. During his term, over 125 enforcement actions related to crypto were initiated, involving numerous DeFi projects, including subpoenas for Uniswap and lawsuits against Coinbase, which nearly pushed the compliance threshold for on-chain products to a historical high.

However, after the new chairman Paul Atkins took office in April 2025, the SEC’s regulatory style underwent a fundamental shift. He quickly initiated a roundtable discussion titled “DeFi and the American Spirit,” aimed at easing regulations on DeFi.

In Project Crypto, Atkins clearly stated that the original intention of U.S. federal securities law is to protect investors and market fairness, rather than to stifle technology architectures that do not require intermediaries. He believes that decentralized financial systems like automated market makers (AMMs) can essentially facilitate non-intermediated financial market activities and should be granted legitimate status at the institutional level. Developers who “only write code” should be provided with clear protections and exemptions; meanwhile, intermediary institutions wishing to provide services based on these protocols should be given clear and executable compliance pathways.

This shift in policy thinking undoubtedly releases positive signals for the entire DeFi ecosystem. In particular, protocols like Lido, Uniswap, and Aave, which have already formed on-chain network effects and possess highly autonomous designs, will gain institutional recognition and development space under the logic of non-intermediated regulation. Tokens of protocols that have long suffered from the “shadow of securities” are also expected to reshape their valuation logic against the backdrop of relaxed policies and the return of market participants, potentially becoming “mainstream assets” in the eyes of investors.

Building the Next Generation Financial Gateway: Super-App Will Reshape the Competitive Landscape of Trading Platforms

In his speech, Paul Atkins proposed the concept of “Super-App,” which is highly practical and transformative. Atkins believes that current securities intermediaries face cumbersome compliance structures and redundant licensing barriers when providing traditional securities, crypto assets, and on-chain services, which directly hinders product innovation and user experience upgrades. He suggested that future trading platforms should be able to integrate various services—including non-securities crypto assets (like $DOGE), securities crypto assets (like tokenized stocks), traditional securities (like U.S. stocks), as well as staking and lending—under a single license. This is not only a compliance innovation that simplifies processes but also the core of future competitive strength for trading platform companies.

The regulatory authorities will promote the real implementation of this super application architecture. Atkins has clearly indicated that the SEC will draft a regulatory framework allowing crypto assets to coexist and trade on SEC-registered platforms, regardless of whether they constitute securities. Meanwhile, the SEC is also evaluating how to utilize existing authority to relax listing conditions for certain assets on non-registered exchanges (such as platforms holding only state licenses). Even derivatives platforms regulated by the CFTC may hope to incorporate some leverage functions to release greater trading liquidity. The overall direction of regulatory reform is to break the binary boundary between securities and non-securities, allowing platforms to flexibly allocate assets based on product nature and user needs, rather than being shackled by compliance structures.

The most direct beneficiaries of this transformation are undoubtedly Coinbase and Robinhood. These two companies have long established diversified trading structures that cover mainstream crypto assets, operate traditional securities trading, and provide lending and wallet services. Encouraged by Project Crypto, they are likely to become the first platforms to reap the policy dividends—achieving one-stop services and connecting on-chain products with traditional user bases. Notably, Robinhood has completed the acquisition of Bitstamp this year and officially launched tokenized stock trading, listing U.S. stocks like Apple, Nvidia, and Tesla in ERC-20 format. This move is precisely a preview of the Super-App model: providing traditional stock trading experiences using on-chain protocols without disrupting the familiar user experience.

On the Coinbase side, they are advancing the developer ecosystem through the Base chain, attempting to integrate exchanges, wallets, social, and application layer services. If they can integrate traditional securities and on-chain assets at the compliance level in the future, Coinbase is likely to develop into the “on-chain version of Charles Schwab” or “next-generation Morgan Stanley”—not only an asset gateway but also a complete platform for financial tool distribution and operation.

It is foreseeable that once the Super-App architecture is fully released, it will become the core battleground for competition among trading platforms. Whoever can first achieve compliant “multi-asset aggregated trading” will occupy a leading position in the next round of financial infrastructure upgrades. The regulatory attitude has become increasingly clear, and platforms are already accelerating their entry. For users, this means a smoother trading experience, a richer product selection, and a financial world that is closer to the future.

ERC-3643: From Technical Protocol to Policy Template, the Compliance Bridge for the RWA Track

Regarding RWA, Paul Atkins explicitly stated in his speech that he will promote the tokenization of traditional assets and specifically mentioned ERC-3643 as a token standard worth referencing in the regulatory framework. This is also the only token standard publicly mentioned during the entire speech, indicating that ERC-3643 has risen from a technical protocol to a policy-level reference model, underscoring its significance.

Paul emphasized that when designing the innovative exemption framework, the SEC will prioritize token systems that “embed compliance capabilities,” and the smart contracts of ERC-3643 integrate mechanisms for permission control, identity verification, and transaction restrictions, which can directly meet the current securities regulations regarding KYC, AML, and accredited investors.

The most notable feature of ERC-3643 is its design philosophy of “compliance as code.” It incorporates a decentralized identity framework called ONCHAINID, requiring all token holders to undergo identity verification and comply with preset rules before completing holding or transfer operations. Regardless of which public chain the token is deployed on, only users who meet KYC or accredited investor standards can truly own these assets. Compliance determination is completed at the smart contract level, eliminating reliance on centralized audits, manual records, or off-chain protocols.

This is fundamentally different from ERC-20, which was born in a completely open, permissionless on-chain native context where any wallet address can freely receive and transfer tokens, making it a fully “fungible tool.” In contrast, ERC-3643 targets high-value, heavily regulated asset categories like securities, funds, and bonds, emphasizing “who can hold” and “whether it is compliant,” making it a “permissioned token standard.” In other words, ERC-20 is the free currency of the crypto world, while ERC-3643 is the compliant container for on-chain finance.

Currently, ERC-3643 has been adopted by multiple countries and financial institutions worldwide. The European digital securities platform Tokeny has been expanding the ERC-3643 standard into the private market securitization in recent years. In June of this year, Tokeny announced a partnership with the digital securities platform Kerdo, planning to build a blockchain-based private investment infrastructure through ERC-3643, covering asset types such as real estate, private equity, hedge funds, and private debt.

From real estate to art collections, from private equity to supply chain notes, ERC-3643 provides the underlying support for the fragmentation, digitization, and global circulation of various assets. It is currently the only public chain token standard that combines programmable compliance, on-chain identity verification, cross-border legal compatibility, and integration capabilities with existing financial architectures.

As Paul Atkins stated in his speech, the future securities market must not only “operate on-chain” but also “comply on-chain.” In this new era, ERC-3643 may become the key bridge connecting the SEC with Ethereum, and connecting TradFi with DeFi.

Entrepreneurs Returning to the U.S.: The Primary Market Will Take Off Again from On-Chain

For a long time, the “Howey Test” has been the primary basis for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to determine whether an asset constitutes a security. Specifically, it includes four elements: whether there is a monetary investment, whether the investment is in a common enterprise, whether profits are derived from the efforts of others, and whether there is an expectation of profits. If a project meets all four criteria, it will be classified as a security and thus subject to a series of securities law frameworks, including pre-issuance prospectuses, information disclosure, and regulatory filings.

Due to the vagueness of this testing standard and inconsistent enforcement, many projects in recent years have chosen to sacrifice the U.S. market to avoid potential regulatory risks, even deliberately “blocking” U.S. users and not opening airdrops and incentives.

However, in the latest Project Crypto policy announcement, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins explicitly stated that he will establish a reclassification standard for crypto assets, providing clear disclosure norms, exemption conditions, and safe harbor mechanisms for common on-chain economic activities such as airdrops, ICOs, and staking. The SEC will no longer default to “issuing tokens = securities,” but will reasonably classify them into different categories such as digital commodities (like Bitcoin), digital collectibles (like NFTs), stablecoins, or security tokens based on their economic attributes and provide appropriate legal pathways.

This represents a critical turning point: project teams will no longer need to “pretend not to issue tokens,” nor will they need to use circumventing structures like foundations or DAOs to hide incentive mechanisms, and they will no longer need to register projects in the Cayman Islands. Instead, teams that genuinely focus on code and have technology as their core driving force will receive institutional recognition.

With the rapid rise of emerging tracks such as AI, DePIN, and SocialFi, and the surging market demand for early-stage financing, this regulatory framework based on substantive classification and innovation encouragement is expected to spark a wave of projects returning to the U.S. The U.S. will no longer be a market that crypto entrepreneurs avoid but may once again become their first choice for token issuance and fundraising.

Conclusion

“Project Crypto” is not a single piece of legislation but a comprehensive set of systemic reforms. It envisions a future where decentralized software, token economies, and capital market compliance are integrated. Paul Atkins’s stance is also very clear: “Regulation should no longer stifle innovation but pave the way for it.”

For the market, this is also a clear signal of policy shift. From DeFi to RWA, from Super App to token issuance and fundraising, who can take off in this round of policy dividends depends on who can first respond to this U.S.-led “on-chain capital market revolution.”

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