SEC Proposes Crypto Fundraising Exemptions as Bitcoin Ticks Up Toward $65,000 Amid Clarity Act Delay

The SEC on Tuesday, August 18, proposed a new regulatory framework called Regulation Crypto Assets, aimed at letting crypto companies raise money without going through the full stock-offering registration process that's tripped up the industry for years.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins framed it as a deliberate pivot away from the enforcement-heavy approach of the Gensler era. "Congress designed our securities laws to amplify, within specific guardrails, opportunities for entrepreneurs to innovate and build new products," Atkins said in a statement carried by the Epoch Times and Banking Dive. He called it a step toward "onshoring innovation in crypto asset markets for generations to come."

The mechanics are straightforward. Two new exemptions from Securities Act registration requirements sit at the center of the proposal. Startups get a one-time break to raise up to $5 million over any four-year span. Bigger projects can raise up to $75 million in any 12-month period. Both exemptions keep antifraud and antimanipulation rules fully intact, according to the Epoch Times and bitcoinfoundation. This isn't a free pass for scams. It's a lane change for capital raising.

The proposal also builds in a safe harbor. Once a company finishes or permanently drops the "managerial efforts" it promised investors, the token can exit investment-contract status and trade freely. That builds on guidance the SEC and CFTC issued in March, which already sorted most crypto assets into non-security buckets, according to Banking Dive.

Louis Froelich, a partner at Womble Bond Dickinson, told Banking Dive the move is a direct response to Congress dragging its feet. "This is a very direct response to the stuttering of the Clarity Act," Froelich said. "The SEC is going to drop thoughtful, direct regulation to enable digital assets to continue to flourish." He described it as one piece of "a broader mosaic," not a blanket green light for the industry.

That congressional gridlock is real. The Clarity Act, the bill meant to give crypto a lasting legislative framework, remains stalled until lawmakers return from summer recess. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., said at the SALT Conference that a vote is now scheduled for September 15, according to a video cited by Banking Dive. Until then, the SEC is filling the vacuum with rulemaking instead of waiting on Congress.

That's a legitimate concern for skeptics of regulation-by-agency: unelected commissioners setting the rules of a market Congress hasn't finished legislating. The SEC's answer is that it's not rewriting the definition of a security, just carving out exemptions and a compliance pathway while lawmakers catch up. Public comments on the proposal stay open for 60 days after it hits the Federal Register, giving critics and industry alike a formal chance to push back before anything is finalized.

Markets responded modestly. Bitcoin opened Wednesday at $64,681.22, up 0.3% from Tuesday's open, and moved up to $64,877.66 by 9:25 a.m. ET, according to Yahoo Finance. TradingKey reported Bitcoin rallying toward the $65,000 level and fluctuating above $64,000 following the SEC news, though the advance remained limited by resistance near $67,000 as the market awaits a stronger catalyst in the form of the Clarity Act. Ethereum also ticked higher, opening at $1,916.47, up 0.2% from Tuesday, and rising to $1,936.31 by 9:24 a.m. ET, per Yahoo Finance.

None of the coverage claims the SEC proposal is a done deal. It's a proposed rule, not a final one, and the 60-day comment window means the framework could still change before it's adopted. The bigger open question is whether the Clarity Act actually clears Congress on its scheduled September 15 vote, or whether the SEC's rulemaking becomes the de facto framework by default while lawmakers keep missing deadlines.