Project Crypto 2026: America's New Digital Asset Framework

At the end of January 2026, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and CFTC Chairman Michael Selig jointly announced the launch of "Project Crypto," signaling a fundamental shift in the U.S. approach to cryptocurrency regulation. This collaboration is not merely symbolic but a decision driven by clear data: According to CoinGecko, the total global cryptocurrency market capitalization exceeded $3.5 trillion by the end of 2025, with the United States accounting for approximately 40% of global trading volume, reaching a level of "systemic importance." Concurrently, the Federal Reserve's 2025 "Report on the Competitive Landscape of Digital Finance" pointed out that without a clear federal regulatory framework, the U.S. could lose its innovation dominance in the digital asset sector within five years. Therefore, the launch of "Project Crypto" is a strategic response to the U.S.'s aim to maintain global leadership in digital finance.

01 Regulatory Change: From "Enforcement First" to "Legislation First"

In recent years, the collaboration between the SEC and CFTC has seen unprecedented substantive progress. Initiatives represented by "Project Crypto" are pushing U.S. crypto market regulation from fragmented enforcement towards systematic governance. A landmark event in this shift was the joint event held by the two regulatory agencies on January 29, 2026, where they explicitly stated their intention to coordinate regulatory approaches and advance the government's strategic goal of making the U.S. a global hub for cryptocurrencies.

Looking back over the past five years, U.S. crypto regulation has long been in an "enforcement-based" mode. Statistics show that the SEC initiated over 200 enforcement actions related to crypto assets between 2020 and 2024, with 70 actions in 2023 alone, resulting in total fines exceeding $5 billion. However, this "after-the-fact accountability" model has drawn criticism from the industry, which argues it lacks clear rules and stifles innovation. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Digital Assets Committee stated in a 2024 white paper: "Regulatory uncertainty led to the U.S. losing approximately 15% of its crypto startups and talent between 2022 and 2024."

The turning point came in 2025. In July of that year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed three cryptocurrency-related bills with bipartisan support. Among them, the "Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act" (GENIUS Act) was formally signed into law, becoming the first federal-level专项 legislation specifically regulating stablecoins. This legislative progress was not accidental but a response to real-world needs: According to a 2025 Bank for International Settlements (BIS) report, global stablecoin payment volumes reached $2.1 trillion per month in 2024, with dollar-pegged stablecoins accounting for over 80%, yet the regulatory framework had long lagged behind.

02 Deep Dive into the Legislative Process: Disagreements, Compromises, and Institutional Construction

At the Senate level, crypto market structure legislation is advancing concurrently in multiple committees, but the specific path forward remains to be unified. The Senate Agriculture Committee is advancing the "Digital Commodity Intermediary Act," which focuses on digital commodity intermediaries and aims to expand the CFTC's regulatory authority over the cryptocurrency spot market. This bill draws on traditional commodity regulatory experience, attempting to explicitly classify mainstream crypto assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum as "digital commodities" under the CFTC's primary oversight.

Simultaneously, the Senate Banking Committee continues negotiations on the "Clarity for Digital Assets Act" (CLARITY Act). The core point of contention in this bill is the definitional standard between "securities" and "commodities," seeking to refine the application of the Howey Test to the digital asset space. Former Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard noted in a Senate hearing: "The current ambiguity in classification has led to both regulatory overlap and gaps. If the CLARITY Act passes, it could save the market approximately $3 billion annually in compliance costs."

Although the GENIUS Act has taken effect, provisions regarding the distribution of stablecoin yield have sparked ongoing disputes between the banking and crypto industries. The act requires issuers to distribute a portion of reserve interest earnings to token holders. Banking representatives argue this squeezes the profit margins of traditional savings products. Compromise proposals from the crypto industry include requiring stablecoin issuers to deposit a portion of reserves with community banks and simplifying the process for community banks to issue their own stablecoins. Data from the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) suggests that if community banks could issue stablecoins, it could bring an estimated $12 billion annually in new deposits to the U.S. small and medium-sized banking system.

03 The DeFi Regulatory Path: Finding Balance Between Innovation and Risk

Regarding the regulation of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, various draft bills attempt to define the digital asset regulatory framework, but their specific approaches differ. The Senate version of the "Digital Asset Market Transparency Act" provides relatively clear definitional criteria for "decentralization": the protocol has no single controlling entity, governance token distribution is sufficiently dispersed, and the code is open-source and auditable. The bill also allows a protocol's "security council" to take emergency measures in response to security incidents without jeopardizing its decentralized status—a clause informed by the 2023 case where the Compound protocol lost $24 million due to a governance attack.

However, current legislative drafts have not fully resolved the complex issue of DeFi regulation. Some proposals place responsibility directly on project teams, requiring them to submit written certifications to the SEC confirming their tokens are not securities. In practice, this requirement faces technical challenges: According to a 2025 study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), approximately 65% of current DeFi protocols have multinational development teams and anonymous contributors, making it difficult to determine a legal "responsible entity."

The SEC remains cautious on DeFi regulation. Chairman Atkins cited the "Tornado Cash sanctions case" in an October 2025 speech, stating that "even if a protocol is decentralized, if it is demonstrably used for illegal activities, regulatory agencies still have the right to intervene." This stance is supported by data: Chainalysis reports that the volume of money laundered through DeFi protocols in 2024 reached $7.8 billion, a 45% increase from 2023.

04 The Regulatory Logic of Asset Tokenization: Technological Neutrality, Unchanged Substance

In late 2025, the SEC clarified its regulatory stance on tokenized securities, emphasizing that "tokenization changes the infrastructure, not the policy essence." This regulatory logic can be summarized as: tokenized securities are still securities, subject to the same federal securities laws, indistinguishable from traditional book-entry methods of ownership.

SEC Chairman Atkins compared tokenization to the electronic revolution in markets, suggesting it could profoundly transform U.S. financial markets in a very short time. By enabling on-chain settlement, tokenization can narrow the gap between trade execution and final settlement, thereby enhancing transparency and efficiency. Real-world cases confirm this potential: In 2025, a tokenized private fund issued by Citibank in partnership with WisdomTree reduced settlement time from T+3 to T+0 while lowering compliance audit costs by approximately 40%.

Regulatory recognition of tokenization is not unconditional. The SEC's 2025 "Guidance on Digital Asset Securities" clarifies that tokenized securities must ensure ownership records comply with the recordkeeping requirements of Securities Exchange Act Rule 17Ad-22, and custody solutions must meet the same security standards as traditional securities. This stance has spurred the development of compliance technology: For example, the tokenized treasury platform developed by Anchorage Digital in collaboration with BlackRock enables compliant circulation of on-chain assets by embedding identity verification and transaction restriction modules.

05 Strategic Intent and Global Competition: The Battle for Rule-Setting Power

The U.S. regulatory overhaul is not an isolated domestic policy adjustment but carries profound global strategic intent. An executive order signed by the Trump administration in early 2025 explicitly elevated crypto technology development to a national strategic priority, stating that "the power to set rules for digital assets is central to financial competitiveness over the next decade."

Currently, the total market capitalization of global stablecoins exceeds $260 billion (Source: CoinMetrics, December 2025). Previously, stablecoins relied mainly on state-level licenses or industry self-regulation, a fragmented approach that led to multiple risk incidents. For example, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in 2023 caused USDC to briefly de-peg, exposing the opacity of reserve custody. The GENIUS Act's requirement for stablecoin issuers to hold equivalent cash or highly liquid assets and undergo monthly federal-level audits is precisely designed to prevent such risks.

The global regulatory race is accelerating. The European Union fully implemented the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) in 2024, providing uniform rules for its 27 member states; Singapore, the UAE, and others have also introduced friendly policies to attract crypto businesses. A January 2026 report from the U.S. Congressional Research Service (CRS) warned: "If the U.S. fails to establish a clear framework by 2026, it is estimated that over $50 billion in crypto capital will flow from the U.S. to markets with clearer regulations."

U.S. regulators also recognize that a stable regulatory framework is key to retaining innovation and liquidity domestically. A 2025 Goldman Sachs report indicated that clear regulation could allow the U.S. digital asset market to grow to $8 trillion by 2030 and create at least 1 million direct jobs.

06 Future Timeline and Corporate Response: Compliance as Core Competitiveness

According to DL News' summary of key 2026 dates for U.S. crypto market regulation, the California Digital Financial Assets Law will take effect in July, requiring industry entities to be licensed. This law is seen as a bellwether for state-level legislation, with its "compliance transition period" allowing businesses to gradually meet capital and risk control requirements by the end of 2026.

Simultaneously, implementing regulations related to the GENIUS Act are expected to be released around mid-July, covering key rules on licensing, custody, and anti-money laundering. The Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has already previewed that it will propose anti-money laundering reporting requirements for stablecoin issuers equivalent to those for banks, with estimated compliance costs representing 15%-20% of operating expenses.

The U.S. midterm elections in November could be the biggest source of policy uncertainty. If the majority party in either house of Congress changes, some currently advancing bills could face reconsideration. Brookings Institution political analysts believe crypto regulation has transcended partisan issues to become a symbol of "economic competitiveness," and the general policy direction is not expected to reverse.

For various market participants, this means preparing for compliance adjustments based on the requirements of different bills. Morgan Stanley advised clients in its 2026 investment outlook: "Crypto asset allocation should prioritize tokenized products compliant with SEC custody rules and focus on trading platforms registered with the CFTC." Particular attention should be paid to the joint rulemaking by the SEC and CFTC—the two agencies have announced plans to release an "Interagency Memorandum on Digital Asset Regulatory Cooperation" by the third quarter of 2026, clarifying responsibilities and information-sharing mechanisms.

Conclusion

As the U.S. crypto regulatory framework gradually takes shape, regulators in Europe and Asia are also accelerating the rollout of their own digital asset regulations. The competition for the power to set rules in digital finance has begun and will determine the future reshaping of the global financial landscape. America's transformation—from fragmented enforcement to systematic legislation—is not just an upgrade in regulatory methods but a repositioning of national financial strategy. Balancing technological innovation and risk control, the U.S. is attempting to forge a path that can both consolidate the dollar's status and lead the digital future. Its success or failure will influence the distribution of global financial power for decades to come.