American regulators plan to introduce special exemptions for crypto projects to stimulate innovation and accelerate the development of DeFi.
A new course in regulation
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), together with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), have presented a proposal to introduce so-called ‘innovation exemptions’. These are temporary relaxations and special conditions for cryptocurrency companies, allowing them to experiment with new business models without the threat of immediate lawsuits.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins emphasized that the priority remains a balance between investor protection and support for technology:
‘My key task is to ensure clear rules for the issuance, custody, and trading of crypto assets, while pursuing dishonest market participants.’
According to Atkins, the new rules will apply to both major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as emerging ecosystems in the field of decentralized finance.
Why exemptions are needed
The crypto industry has long discussed the problem of ‘regulation through lawsuits’ — an approach that hindered project development in the U.S. during Gary Gensler’s leadership. The new initiative essentially changes the paradigm: instead of legal pressure, developers will receive clear timeframes and the opportunity to test their ideas under regulatory supervision.
The measures under discussion include:
- clearer rules for the custody and accounting of digital assets
- exemptions for certain token sale and crowdfunding models
- regulatory ‘sandboxes’ for DeFi projects and Web3 protocols
The initiative is actively supported by CFTC representative Kristin Johnson. According to her, it is DeFi that can demonstrate ‘a qualitative difference from traditional financial systems’ and requires a special approach.
Historical context
In 2020, attempts were already made to introduce a ‘safe harbor’ for token developers. At that time, this caused a short-term surge in market activity and an increase in the number of new project launches. Experts believe that the effect of the current exemptions could be much greater, as the industry is now at a completely different level of maturity.
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Market reaction
Investors greeted the news with cautious optimism. Following the announcement, Ethereum fell by 6.9% over the week and is trading around $4,196 with a market cap of $506 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. Trading volumes dropped by 23% in 24 hours, to $35 billion. Nevertheless, in the long term, ETH remains positive: over the past three months, growth has been nearly 73%.
Analysts from Coincu believe that the launch of ‘innovation exemptions’ will give a serious boost to the DeFi sector, allowing new business models to be legalized and accelerating capital inflow. Projects developing infrastructure solutions in tokenization and cross-network interaction will benefit the most.
What’s next?
By the end of 2025, the SEC and CFTC intend to complete the formation of the legal framework for the new exemptions. This is expected to be an important signal for the global industry: the U.S. is showing its readiness to move away from a prohibitive model and take a leading position in cryptocurrency regulation.
If the initiative is implemented, American projects will gain a powerful competitive advantage, and the market will receive long-awaited clarity. This could attract not only developers but also institutional investors, who have so far stayed away due to regulatory risks.
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