Written by: Oliver, Mars Finance

In July in Washington, the air is filled with the scent of change. As the crypto world continues to digest the regulatory upheaval brought about by the "trio" of the GENIUS Act, the CLARITY Act, and the Anti-CBDC Act, a more explosive signal has emerged from within the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), casting a glaring light on the future direction of the entire industry.

On July 18, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins made remarks at a press conference that were nothing short of a "regulatory earthquake." He stated that the SEC is actively considering the introduction of an "innovation exemption" to "incentivize the market to advance the tokenization process." He candidly added, "For the past few years, the SEC has been obstructing market innovation; the rules have been unclear, and we have been engaging in enforcement-style regulation. Those days are over."

This announcement signifies far more than a mere policy adjustment; it marks the end of one era and the beginning of another. If the three major acts laid the foundation and framework for the crypto industry to build a path toward compliance, then Atkins' "innovation exemption" is the keyholder who personally opens the door and proclaims, "Welcome, this is the new world of tokenization."

From "Gatekeeper" to "Guide": The Transformation of the SEC's Role

The profound significance of the "innovation exemption" is highlighted by its stark contrast to the SEC's modus operandi over the past few years. Under Gary Gensler's leadership, the SEC has acted more like a strict "gatekeeper," with a core logic of "enforcement first," using a series of lawsuits to vaguely define its jurisdictional boundaries, casting the entire industry under the shadow of a Damocles sword. The consequence of this approach has been that innovators either flee to other jurisdictions or navigate a treacherous legal gray area.

Atkins' proposed "innovation exemption" is essentially a concept of a "regulatory sandbox." It allows companies to test their innovative products and services in a real market environment with controlled risks under specific exemptions, without the immediate need to comply with all existing, potentially outdated regulations. This signifies a shift in the SEC's role from a passive, adversarial "gatekeeper" to an active, constructive "guide." The message conveyed is: we not only tolerate innovation, but we also want to help you, guide you, and collaboratively build a compliant and prosperous tokenized securities ecosystem.

This transformation is not a whim but is built on a solid foundation laid by a series of recent legislative victories. The synergistic effect of the three major acts has created the perfect stage for the SEC's remarkable turnaround.

First, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance National Act ideologically delineates a "protected zone" for private sector innovation. By legislatively prohibiting the Federal Reserve from issuing retail central bank digital currency, Congress has effectively cleared the largest potential competitor for privately-led digital dollars—namely, compliant stablecoins. This ensures that future digital financial innovations will be market-driven rather than government-led.

Next, the GENIUS Act provides a clear "birth certificate" for this market-driven digital dollar. It establishes a dual-track licensing system at both federal and state levels and mandates a 1:1 reserve of high-quality liquid assets, paving the way for the issuance and circulation of compliant stablecoins. A regulated, trustworthy, and scalable stablecoin system is the lifeblood of all future tokenized asset trading and settlement. Without reliable "digital cash," discussions of tokenized stock and bond trading are moot.

Finally, the CLARITY Act (formerly FIT21) addresses the most challenging jurisdictional issues. It attempts to delineate the "territories" of the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) based on the core standard of "degree of decentralization." Although the final form and effectiveness of this act are still subject to Senate negotiations, it has successfully shifted the discussion from "whether to regulate" to "how to regulate," significantly reducing systemic risks across the entire ecosystem.

These three acts are interlinked, collectively constructing a new regulatory paradigm: the Anti-CBDC Act clears the field, the GENIUS Act builds the road, and the CLARITY Act establishes the rules. It is on this newly organized terrain that the SEC's "innovation exemption" can transform from a radical idea into a logical, inevitable policy option.

A Trillion-Dollar Consensus on Wall Street

Once the regulatory green light is lit, the flood of capital will surge. The SEC's change in attitude resonates perfectly with the consensus already formed on Wall Street. Larry Fink, CEO of the world's largest asset management company BlackRock, has long been a bellwether for the industry: "We believe the next step in finance will be the tokenization of financial assets. This means that every stock, every bond, will ultimately exist on a single ledger."

This is not a nebulous vision. Behind Fink's remarks lies the traditional financial world's recognition of the immense potential of tokenization. Tokenization can break down illiquid assets such as real estate, private equity, and artworks into standardized units that can be traded 24/7 in global markets, thereby unleashing vast amounts of dormant capital. It can also automate compliance, settlement, and dividends through smart contracts, significantly reducing transaction costs and back-office operational expenses.

Market forecasts provide astonishing corroboration. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) predicts that by 2030, the market size for tokenization of global illiquid assets will reach $16 trillion. Citibank's forecast is more conservative but still estimates between $4 trillion and $5 trillion. These figures are no longer fanciful; BlackRock's own tokenized money market fund, BUIDL, surpassed $1 billion in assets within just a few months, eloquently demonstrating institutional investors' genuine appetite for compliant on-chain assets.

Now, the SEC's "innovation exemption" commitment effectively opens the floodgates for this impending capital surge. It assures pioneers like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton that their explorations will not be penalized for infringing outdated regulations but will instead receive support and guidance from regulators. This will undoubtedly accelerate the transition of RWA (real-world assets) tokenization from experimental stages to large-scale applications.

The Roar of the Political Engine

The shift in Washington's policy direction does not happen without reason. The SEC's transition from "iron fist" to "handshake" is backed by a textbook-level political influence operation within the crypto industry. The Super PAC Fairshake, primarily funded by industry giants like Coinbase, Ripple, and a16z, has become a force that no politician can ignore in the 2024 election cycle.

Statistics show that Fairshake and its affiliated organizations have raised over $260 million and have strategically invested it in key congressional districts. Their goal is clear: to support candidates friendly to crypto innovation while relentlessly attacking those with hostile positions. This "crypto cash tsunami" has fundamentally altered the political calculus in Washington, making "supporting crypto" a safe and advantageous choice for many lawmakers.

The passage of the GENIUS Act, achieved with strong bipartisan consensus, is a concentrated reflection of the results of this political operation. A clear "political-regulatory flywheel" has formed: the industry invests heavily to influence elections, elects more friendly lawmakers; these lawmakers push through favorable legislation to legitimize the industry; clear regulations attract traditional capital, driving industry growth; the prosperity of the industry brings more profits to participants, enabling them to invest more in the next election cycle. This self-reinforcing cycle perfectly explains why the evolution of crypto policy has suddenly accelerated and why the SEC's leadership has made such trend-aligned statements.

Conclusion: Setting Sail in the New Regulatory Sea

Of course, the broad path for RWA tokenization does not mean that the journey ahead is smooth sailing. As the spotlight of capital and regulation focuses on relatively easy-to-understand assets on-chain, the true "deep waters" of the crypto world—those decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) composed purely of code—are just beginning to surface their regulatory challenges. This constitutes the real "unfinished agenda" before lawmakers.

How do you regulate a DeFi lending protocol that has no CEO, no board, and is governed by global anonymous participants? When a smart contract has a vulnerability that causes losses, who should bear the legal responsibility? The code's developer, the liquidity-providing user, or the governance token holders? These questions challenge a legal system built on "legal entities" and "responsible parties" for centuries. Similarly, the legal status of DAOs, as a brand-new organizational form, remains unresolved. They are neither traditional companies nor partnerships, making it difficult for them to sign contracts, open bank accounts, or even pay taxes in the real world, and their members may face the enormous risk of unlimited joint liability. Creating a suitable legal framework for these "digitally native" entities will be the most complex game between legislators and innovators in the next phase.

Nevertheless, we must recognize that a fundamental turning point has occurred. The pendulum of policy has swung from restraint to guidance, and the flood of capital has found its compliant entry point. The crypto industry has successfully transformed itself from a fringe topic into a significant player at the Washington table. Therefore, the question is no longer "Will crypto be accepted?" but rather "How quickly and to what scale will it integrate into the global financial system?" As regulators lower their spears and extend olive branches, a trillion-dollar market built jointly by code and law, driven by politics and capital, is opening its doors to us in an unprecedented manner.

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