The SEC's "Regulation Crypto Assets": two exemptions, and the fact that it is a proposal
On 18 August 2026 the SEC announced a proposed framework for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets, with two registration exemptions: up to $5 million over four years and up to $75 million every 12 months. We set out what the text is, and what it is not yet.
In short
On 18 August 2026 the United States Securities and Exchange Commission announced a proposed rule named "Regulation Crypto Assets". In the announcement's own words:
"The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it proposed new rules, titled “Regulation Crypto Assets,” that would create a clear and fit-for-purpose framework for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets."
The conditional "would" is the most important part of this news: the text is a proposed rule, not one in force.
Two exemptions
The proposal sets out two registration exemptions for certain crypto asset investment contracts:
- Up to $5 million in a four-year period, once.
- Up to $75 million in each 12-month period.
These figures are ceilings. The conditions, the lower bounds and who may rely on them sit in the full text of the proposal, which this piece did not read line by line.
What "proposal" means
An SEC proposal is a draft opened to public comment. According to the announcement the comment period runs for 60 days from publication in the Federal Register.
That process has three possible outcomes: the text is adopted as written, adopted with changes, or never comes into force. Which one happens is not known today.
So reading this as "unregistered sales up to $75 million are now permitted" is wrong. Nothing is permitted as of today; a framework has been proposed.
The timetable is not yet fixed
The comment period is counted from Federal Register publication, and that publication date is not in the press release. The final comment day therefore cannot be calculated today, and it was not verified for this piece.
Risks
Biggest uncertainty The text is a proposal and is not in force. The Federal Register publication date and the comment deadline were not verified here.
- A proposed text is not a final text. Every detail, the figures included, can change at the end of the comment process.
- A press release is not the rule itself. This piece rests on the announcement; the full rule text was not examined.
- The scope is narrowly defined. The proposal speaks of "certain" investment contracts; it does not follow that every crypto asset is covered.
- This is not legal advice. For your own situation the published text of the rule and a lawyer are the places to look.
What was not examined is listed in the data status above.
Sources
This article rests on the sources below. Whether each has a permanent copy is stated next to it.
- #1
Primary source for the name of the proposal, the two exemption ceilings and the 60-day comment period: the SEC press release.
sec.gov· our own copy· archive copy· no screenshot
Evidence chain: 1 sources
Tweets get deleted, sites go down. Below is whether a durable copy exists for each source.
Sources (1)
- #1
Primary source for the name of the proposal, the two exemption ceilings and the 60-day comment period: the SEC press release.
“The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it proposed new rules, titled “Regulation Crypto Assets,” that would create a clear and fit-for-purpose framework for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets.”
sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2026-76-sec-proposes-new-regulation-crypto-assetsour own copyopen in a new tab - no screenshot captured
- archived copy
- captured on Sep 5, 2026, 7:44 PM
content hash
40cba79b79…c7129e
Correction history
Articles are never deleted, only corrected. Every change appears here.
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Correction:
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