The On-Chain Revolution in the United States: Regulatory Easing Unleashes New Opportunities

On July 31, Paul Atkins, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, announced a significant initiative called "Project Crypto." This on-chain reform plan led by the SEC aims to fundamentally rewrite the regulatory logic of the United States in the era of crypto assets, promoting the transition of financial markets to blockchain and achieving the grand goal of making the U.S. the "world's crypto capital."

Unlike the regulatory suppression tone of the past few years, the launch of "Project Crypto" sends a strong signal to the entire industry: the on-chain era in the United States has officially begun. This marks a significant shift in the U.S. regulatory approach, moving from "enforcement-based regulation" to supporting innovation and development.

DeFi Protocols Welcome New Development Opportunities

After the new chairman Paul Atkins took office, the SEC's regulatory style underwent a fundamental shift. He quickly initiated a thematic discussion on "DeFi and the American Spirit" to loosen regulations on DeFi.

Atkins clearly stated that the original intention of U.S. federal securities laws is to protect investors and ensure market fairness, rather than to curb technology architectures that do not require intermediaries. He believes that decentralized financial systems, such as automated market makers, can essentially achieve non-intermediated financial market activities and should be granted legitimate status at the institutional level. Clear protections and exemptions should be provided for those developers who "only write code"; meanwhile, clear and executable compliance pathways should be established for intermediary institutions that wish to provide services based on these protocols.

The shift in this policy approach releases positive signals for the entire DeFi ecosystem. In particular, some protocols that have already formed on-chain network effects and possess highly autonomous designs will gain institutional recognition and development space under the logic of decentralized regulation. Protocol tokens that have long been troubled by the "shadow of securities" are also expected to reshape their valuation logic against the backdrop of policy easing and the return of market participants, becoming "mainstream assets" in the eyes of investors once again.

Super-App Will Reshape the Competitive Landscape of Trading Platforms

Atkins proposed the concept of "Super-App" in his speech, which is the most practical and revolutionary idea. He believes that current securities intermediaries face complex compliance structures and redundant licensing barriers when providing traditional securities, crypto assets, and on-chain services, which directly hinder product innovation and user experience upgrades. He suggested that future trading platforms should be able to integrate various services, including non-securities crypto assets, securities crypto assets, traditional securities, as well as staking, lending, and more, under one license.

The regulatory authorities will promote the implementation of this super application architecture. The SEC will draft a regulatory framework that allows crypto assets, regardless of whether they constitute securities, to coexist and trade on SEC-registered platforms. The direction of the entire regulatory reform is to break the binary boundary between securities and non-securities, allowing platforms to flexibly allocate assets based on the nature of the product and user needs.

Some platforms that have established diversified trading structures are expected to be the first beneficiaries. They have the opportunity to achieve one-stop services and bridge on-chain products with traditional user groups. Some platforms have begun to attempt to list US stocks in ERC-20 format, which is a rehearsal of the Super-App model: providing a traditional stock trading experience with on-chain protocols.

It is foreseeable that once the Super-App architecture is fully released, it will become the core battleground for competition among trading platforms. Whoever can be the first to achieve compliant "multi-asset aggregated trading" will be able to gain a leading position in the next round of financial infrastructure upgrades. For users, this means a smoother trading experience, a richer product selection, and a financial world closer to the future.

ERC-3643: The Compliance Bridge for the RWA Track

In terms of RWA, Atkins clearly stated that he would promote the tokenization of traditional assets, specifically mentioning ERC-3643 as a token standard worth referring to in the regulatory framework. This is also the only token standard publicly mentioned during the entire speech, indicating that ERC-3643 has elevated from a technical protocol to a policy-level reference model.

Atkins emphasized that the SEC will prioritize token systems with "built-in compliance capabilities" when designing the framework for innovative exemptions. The smart contract of ERC-3643 integrates mechanisms such as access control, identity verification, and transaction restrictions, which can directly meet the current securities regulations regarding KYC, AML, and qualified investors.

The biggest feature of ERC-3643 lies in its design philosophy of "compliance is code." It comes with a built-in decentralized identity framework, requiring all token holders to undergo identity verification and meet preset rules before they can complete holding or transfer operations. This introduces the dimension of "permissions," which is the biggest difference from ERC-20. ERC-3643 is aimed at high-value, heavily regulated asset classes such as securities, funds, and bonds, emphasizing "who can hold" and "whether it is compliant," making it a "permissioned token standard."

Currently, ERC-3643 has been adopted by multiple countries and financial institutions worldwide. From real estate to art collections, from private equity to supply chain bills, ERC-3643 provides the underlying support for the fragmentation, digitization, and global circulation of various assets. It is currently the only public chain token standard that combines programmable compliance, on-chain identity verification, cross-border legal compatibility, and integration with existing financial infrastructure.

Entrepreneurs Return to the U.S., the Primary Market Will Take Off Again from on-chain

In the latest released Project Crypto policy, Atkins explicitly stated for the first time: standards for the reclassification of crypto assets will be developed to provide clear disclosure norms, exemption conditions, and safe harbor mechanisms for common on-chain economic activities such as airdrops, ICOs, and Staking. The SEC will no longer default to "issuing tokens = securities," but will reasonably classify them into different categories based on their economic attributes and provide appropriate legal pathways.

This represents a critical turning point: project teams will no longer need to "pretend not to issue tokens," nor do they need to use circumventing structures like foundations or DAOs to conceal incentive mechanisms. They will no longer have to register projects overseas, but rather, teams that genuinely focus on code and prioritize technology as the core driving force will receive institutional recognition.

With the rapid rise of emerging sectors such as AI, DePIN, and SocialFi, and the surge in market demand for early-stage financing, this regulatory framework based on substantial classification and innovation encouragement is expected to trigger a wave of project repatriation to the United States. The U.S. is no longer a market that crypto entrepreneurs avoid, but may become their preferred choice for issuing tokens and fundraising again.

Conclusion

"Project Crypto" depicts a future that merges decentralized software, token economics, and the compliance of capital markets. Atkins's stance is clear: "Regulation should no longer stifle innovation, but make way for it."

For the market, this is a clear signal of a policy shift. From DeFi to RWA, from Super App to token fundraising, who can stand out in this round of policy dividends depends on who can respond first to this U.S.-led "on-chain capital market revolution."