SEC chair urges CLARITY Act advance at Solana policy summit

US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins used a September 14 keynote at the Solana Policy Institute’s Washington summit to urge Congress to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. His published remarks also described the agency’s proposed crypto-asset rules and work on custody. The SEC had listed the appearance before the event.

A call for legislation, not a new law

Atkins argued that Congress should move the CLARITY Act forward. He said the SEC would continue its digital-asset agenda with or without that legislation. His remarks did not say the bill had passed or announce a new law. Atkins also noted that he was speaking as chairman and that his views were not necessarily those of the SEC or other commissioners.

What the SEC is proposing

Atkins discussed the agency’s proposed Regulation Crypto Assets as a possible framework for crypto projects to raise capital under federal securities law. He described what the rule would do if adopted, not a rule already in force. He also pointed to proposed changes for transfer agents that account for tokenized shares.

On custody, Atkins said he had asked SEC staff to develop a proposal addressing when investment advisers and regulated funds may hold crypto assets through self-custody or state trust companies, subject to conditions. That proposal was still being developed in his September 14 remarks; he did not announce a final custody rule.

The Solana setting

The summit agenda listed Commissioner Hester Peirce for a fireside chat before Atkins and Senator Cynthia Lummis after him. The setting put the speech before a crypto-industry audience, but the published SEC remarks did not approve Solana, its SOL token, or any exchange-traded product. The concrete development was Atkins’s public account of legislative priorities and rule proposals.