SEC makes digital assets a strategic priority in draft plan

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has formally designated digital assets as a strategic priority in its draft five-year plan, signaling a significant step toward establishing a clearer regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry by 2030. The agency’s draft Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2026-2030, released this week, outlines an objective to provide a firm regulatory foundation for digital assets and distributed ledger technology.

The plan acknowledges that the rapid growth of the digital asset sector has outpaced existing regulations, creating legal uncertainty for market participants. It states the SEC intends to support compliant capital formation through tokenized offerings and on-chain financial systems while ensuring that custody, trading, and staking services can operate under appropriate oversight. The agency said blockchain and crypto asset technologies have the potential to revolutionize America’s financial infrastructure.

A key component of the proposed framework involves clarifying the division of responsibilities between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a longstanding jurisdictional issue. The plan identifies...