The Securities and Exchange Commission added three crypto items to its 2026 Unified Regulatory Agenda, per a July 8 report from Cryptonomist and confirmed by The Defiant and CryptoRank. All three items list a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking targeted for July 2026.
The move follows the SEC’s June 2 Draft Strategic Plan, which named digital‑asset rulemaking a top priority for fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
The three rules
RIN 3235‑AN38 (Crypto Assets) would address the offer and sale of digital assets, "potentially to include certain exemptions and safe harbors."
RIN 3235‑AN48 would amend broker‑dealer net capital rule 15c3‑1, customer‑protection rule 15c3‑3, and recordkeeping rules 17a‑3 and 17a‑4, to address the application of these rules to crypto assets.
RIN 3235‑AN49 (Crypto Market Structure Amendments) would amend Exchange Act rules governing crypto trading on alternative trading systems and national securities exchanges, with the stated intent to provide "clear rules of the road for the issuance, custody, and trading of crypto assets."
Why the framing matters
Chair Atkins has taken a materially friendlier posture toward crypto than his predecessor Gary Gensler. The regulatory agenda operationalizes that shift: instead of case‑by‑case enforcement, the SEC is publishing proposals that exchanges, custodians and issuers can plan against and comment on. The industry practical effect is measurable in the comment file — if the market participates in the NPRM period, the rules that emerge will reflect operator input, not adversarial litigation.
