With the public feedback window for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s suggested Regulation Crypto Assets coming to an end, cryptocurrency companies, traditional financial institutions, and lobbying organizations are advocating their perspectives regarding how the regulator ought to mold the trajectory of market development.
Submissions for the SEC’s proposed Regulation Crypto Assets close on Tuesday, having accumulated upwards of 100 filings to date. The novel framework aims to establish a mechanism for digital asset investments that would excuse specific sales from complying with securities statutes. It features a “startup exemption” that waives registration mandates for offerings reaching up to $5 million. Furthermore, the draft incorporates a “fundraising exemption” permitting raises up to $75 million spanning a twelve-month duration.
In its submission, the Hyperliquid Policy Center urged the SEC to embrace Reg Crypto, while noting that modifications are necessary regarding the regulatory treatment of airdrops. The organization requested that the agency formalize past statements establishing that distributions distributing assets at zero cost entail no financial contribution and thus fall outside the classification of a security.
HPC additionally contended that the regulatory safe harbor suggested by the SEC is excessively restrictive.
“The regulatory safe harbor introduced in the draft mandates a certification that numerous initiatives are unable to provide,” the organization stated within a Monday publication.
The Alternative Investment Management Association likewise requested amendments, suggesting the inclusion of details clarifying investor legal protections and potential liabilities that might impact fund managers.
“Sellers must additionally differentiate utility or economic exposure from ownership claims, liquidation pathways, revenue entitlements, and legal agreements,” AIMA indicated within its filing. “We suggest customized event disclosures alongside precise handling for data that is genuinely inaccessible.”
The agency also introduced a long-anticipated innovation exemption that took effect immediately in September, facilitating onchain transactions involving tokenized equities. This five-year waiver excludes designated trading platforms—termed tokenized securities venues—from meeting the classification of an exchange, while also relieving certain liquidity providers from dealer designations under securities rules when executing stock trades or supplying liquidity via automated market makers, meaning smart contracts.
During Monday’s filings, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association argued that the commission must immediately prioritize investor safeguards while emphasizing that adjustments are required regarding how participants elect to participate.
“The five-year lifespan of this exemption amplifies the significance of settling these matters right away, because initial structural decisions will establish industry norms long prior to the implementation of a permanent structure,” according to SIFMA’s submission.
CFTC assesses compute and petroleum perpetual contracts
Meanwhile, the SEC’s counterpart, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is advancing its own regulatory agenda. One of its primary areas of attention involves perpetual futures. The CFTC authorized the initial perpetual futures contracts for Kalshi and Coinbase during August, paving the way for those instruments to trade domestically for the initial time.
Ever since, momentum has grown toward introducing domestic oil perpetual futures alongside compute perpetual agreements. Within a Tuesday publication, the Hyperliquid Policy Center stated that the CFTC ought to introduce those instruments to the United States, noting that capital expenditure directed toward processors, AI server farms, and supplementary infrastructure has significantly bolstered the national economy.
“During periods of price appreciation, builders who lease computing power face identical exposure without access to accessible risk-management instruments,” HPC explained. “Valuations across the computing sector remain fragmented and largely non-public.”
Originally published at https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-10-20-sec-regulation-crypto-assets-comment-period-hyperliquid-sifma-aima-421444.
