The meeting reported last week took place on August 18, and the Securities and Exchange Commission has formally proposed a package of rules called "Crypto Assets Regulation," which creates a tailored securities-offering regime for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets.
The document explicitly builds on the commission's March interpretive guidance that clarified how federal securities laws apply to crypto assets and related transactions. Together, the two steps form a comprehensive, bespoke offering framework intended to remove long-standing barriers to responsible capital formation and innovation in the domestic crypto market while preserving investor protections at the heart of federal securities law.
The proposal's core comprises two registration exemptions under the Securities Act of 1933, specifically tailored for crypto?asset investment contracts. The first, a one-time exemption, permits raising up to $5 million over a four-year period. The second allows issuers to raise up to $75 million in any 12-month period. Under both exemptions, issuers must provide investors with specified descriptive information based on principles?based disclosure; issuers using the larger exemption would also be required to provide financial statements and comply with ongoing disclosure obligations.
A separate—and perhaps most significant—element of the proposal is a conditional safe harbor that removes a crypto asset from the definition of an "investment contract" under the 1933 and 1934 Acts if certain conditions are met. If a project satisfies those conditions, the asset would cease to be treated as a "security" for purposes of federal regulation altogether.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins clarified the key condition for that safe harbor: it would become available only after an issuer has completed or permanently ceased all material managerial efforts it had promised to undertake under the investment contract — in other words, the exit mechanism from federal jurisdiction upon achieving decentralization, a concept Atkins has been discussing since his March remarks.
The proposed rules would also preempt state registration requirements for offerings conducted under Regulation Crypto Assets.
Atkins tied the initiative to parallel congressional work on the CLARITY Act, saying the proposal is meant to give crypto entrepreneurs and market participants clear federal capital-raising pathways now, while lawmakers continue to craft a long-term statutory framework.
The timing is telling: just before the SEC proposal, Galaxy Digital cut its forecast for the probability that the CLARITY Act will pass this year to 10%, and the Senate is not slated to return to procedural voting until September 15. The SEC appears unwilling to wait for that vote and is proceeding on its own rulemaking track.
Trading recommendations
Bitcoin
Buyers are currently targeting a return to $65,000, which opens a direct path to $66,000 and then to $66,800; a break above $66,800 would signal attempts to restore the bull market. On a pullback, buyers are expected at $64,000. A move below that area could quickly drop BTC toward $62,800. The farthest target would be the $60,600 area.
Ethereum
A clear hold above $1,916 opens a direct path to $1,974. The farthest target is the high around $2,012; a break above that would indicate strengthening bullish sentiment and a return of buyer interest. On a decline, buyers are expected at $1,868. A move below that area could quickly push ETH toward $1,834. The farthest target would be the $1,782 area.
What's on the chart
The red lines represent support and resistance levels, where the price is expected to either pause or react sharply. The green line shows the 50-day moving average. The blue line is the 100-day moving average. The lime line is the 200-day moving average.Price testing or crossing any of these moving averages often either halts movement or injects fresh momentum into the market.