SEC Proposes New Crypto Regulations, Bringing Back ICOs

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a new regulatory framework that would allow crypto projects to raise money without full securities registration.

The rule, called Regulation Crypto Assets, creates two paths around full registration: a startup exemption for smaller projects capped at $5 million raised over four years, and a fundraising exemption up to $75 million per year for larger raises, with issuers required to file audited financials and keep ongoing reporting.

The proposal builds on a March interpretation issued jointly by the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which spelled out when a token can stop being tied to an investment contract.

This move marks what some in the industry are calling a return of the ICO, the token-sale model that all but disappeared after 2017. Commissioner Hester Peirce said the plan gives entrepreneurs a path past what she called an ill-fitting set of rules applied to the industry for years.