U.S. Regulators Drop Crypto From 2026 Priorities in Major Policy Shift
U.S. regulators just made a big change: the SEC has completely removed crypto from its list of examination priorities for 2026. This is a major shift from the past few years, where crypto was treated as a top risk area under the previous administration.
The SEC released its new 17-page “2026 Examination Priorities” report this week. The focus for next year is now on things like cybersecurity, anti-money laundering, identity theft, operational resiliency, and new rules under Regulation S-P.
When it comes to emerging technology, the SEC now highlights AI, automated advice, and algorithms—but not crypto at all. The report doesn’t mention digital assets, virtual currency, or blockchain anywhere. This is a big difference from 2024 and 2025, where the SEC repeatedly warned firms about crypto-related risks.
What Changed?
The policy shift lines up with the White House’s newer, more crypto-friendly direction. President Trump has already scaled back federal work on a potential central bank digital currency and created a President’s Working Group on digital asset markets.
In March, the White House even announced plans for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a national digital asset stockpile.
The SEC’s new chair, Paul S. Atkins—sworn in last April—has a long history of supporting lighter regulation and focusing on capital formation. His approach fits the new administration’s tone.
At the same time, Trump and his family have been deeply involved in crypto ventures, including World Liberty Financial and various branded memecoins. Those projects have reportedly made the Trump family over $1 billion.
Enforcement Is Down
The SEC’s aggressive crackdown on crypto has cooled off sharply. Cornerstone Research counted:
- 46 crypto enforcement actions in 2023
- 33 in 2024 — a drop of about 30%
Overall enforcement actions across all categories also fell in fiscal year 2024. Financial penalties reached a record total, but that was mainly due to the Terraform Labs settlement.
Under Atkins, the SEC has wrapped up several big crypto cases:
- Ripple settled with a $125 million penalty, limited only to institutional sales
- The investigation into Robinhood’s crypto business ended with no charges
- The lawsuit against Coinbase for alleged unregistered exchange activity was dismissed
Markets Are Shifting Too
Crypto markets have been volatile. Bitcoin has pulled back from its October highs, Ethereum has weakened, and the broader market has seen sharp drops.
But the U.S. still saw major crypto adoption in 2024 and 2025. Spot Bitcoin ETFs brought in strong net inflows, and more traditional financial institutions are now active in crypto investment products.
Global Regulators Moving in the Opposite Direction
While the U.S. is easing off, other major economies are tightening their crypto frameworks:
- EU: MiCA rules are now fully active, with strict requirements for stablecoins and crypto service providers.
- U.K.: New rules for crypto trading, staking, intermediaries, and DeFi are being drafted.
- Hong Kong: Continuing to refine its licensing system and planning cross-border trading features to increase liquidity.
- Singapore: Implemented a stablecoin framework in 2024 for SGD- and G10-pegged stablecoins.
Globally, regulators are building crypto-specific rules, but the U.S. is now taking a broader, lighter-touch approach that folds crypto into general risk areas rather than treating it as its own category.
