U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins has unveiled “Project Crypto,” a commission-wide plan to overhaul federal securities regulation so that digital assets and blockchain technology can operate squarely within U.S. capital markets. The initiative, announced in a July 31 address at the America First Policy Institute in Washington, is aligned with President Donald Trump’s goal of making the United States the “crypto capital of the world.” Atkins directed SEC staff to draft clear guidance on when a crypto token qualifies as a security, design safe-harbor exemptions for offerings such as initial coin offerings and airdrops, and develop tailored disclosure requirements for tokenized securities. He also proposed a principles-based “innovation exemption” that would allow novel business models to launch quickly while meeting core investor-protection standards. Project Crypto calls for modernizing custody rules to accommodate both self-custody and regulated intermediaries, and for updating Regulation NMS to enable on-chain trading of tokenized equities. The chairman further endorsed a unified broker-dealer license that would let so-called “super-apps” offer trading in traditional securities, crypto assets and staking services within one platform. Research firm Bernstein said the effort could ultimately “rewrite the rules of Wall Street,” though formal rulemaking and public comment periods still lie ahead.