SEC Chairman: Many types of cryptocurrency ICOs are not under the jurisdiction of the SEC

According to The Block, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated at the Blockchain Association's annual policy summit on Tuesday that many types of initial coin offerings (ICOs) should be considered non-securities transactions, falling outside the jurisdiction of Wall Street regulators.

He explained that this is precisely what the SEC wants to encourage, as such things do not fall under the definition of securities. Atkins specifically mentioned the token classification he introduced last month, which divides the crypto industry into four major categories of tokens. He noted last month that network tokens, digital collectibles, and digital tools should not be considered securities in themselves.

On Tuesday, he reiterated that ICOs involving these three types of tokens should also be regarded as non-securities transactions, meaning they are not subject to SEC regulation. Atkins also mentioned that, regarding ICOs, the only category of tokens that the SEC believes it should regulate is tokenized securities, which are the tokenized forms of securities that are already under SEC oversight and traded on-chain.

He further explained that ICOs span four themes, three of which fall under the jurisdiction of the CFTC, and the SEC will let the CFTC handle related matters while focusing on regulating tokenized securities.