The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are pursuing a formal memorandum of understanding to combine their regulatory efforts on cryptocurrency, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins announced Tuesday.
Atkins said the new MOU will establish combined meetings with regulated firms on product applications, rule interpretations, enforcement decisions and examinations. The framework aims to prevent cryptocurrency companies from being “shuffled back and forth between regulators” when products fall under both agencies’ jurisdictions.
“We are reorienting our approach toward a new golden age of regulatory coherence,” Atkins said in remarks prepared for the FIA Global Cleared Markets Conference in Florida. “More than aligning our rules, a harmonized framework also demands coordinating our responses to the firms that operate within it.”
The SEC chairman directed staff to establish joint meetings with CFTC employees on product applications. Additionally, a new “harmonization” website will allow firms to request coordinated discussions with both agencies simultaneously, streamlining the approval process for digital asset products.
The division of regulatory responsibilities between the SEC, which oversees securities and exchanges, and the CFTC, which supervises derivatives markets, has historically created friction in cryptocurrency regulation. Years of regulatory actions and legal disputes have resulted from the lack of clear rules defining where crypto products belong in the U.S. regulatory framework.
Atkins emphasized that coordinated examinations should become standard practice for dual-regulated entities. “Shared supervisory findings, subject to assurances of confidentiality, should be the norm rather than the exception,” he said. This approach could reduce compliance burden on cryptocurrency firms by eliminating redundant examinations.
Since the arrival of Trump-appointed leaders at both agencies, the SEC and CFTC have prioritized cryptocurrency-friendly policies. They are currently developing several initiatives, including policies to clarify how digital assets will be classified as either securities or commodities, a distinction that has long plagued the industry.
The formalized cooperation extends beyond product approvals to enforcement decisions and routine regulatory examinations. As cryptocurrency firms deepen their integration into federal oversight structures, coordinated examinations will become increasingly important for operational efficiency.
Atkins also reiterated his vision for “super-apps” that integrate services across both agencies’ jurisdictions without requiring users to switch between separate systems. This concept reflects a broader push toward seamless regulatory frameworks for digital asset platforms.
“In the technology world, a super-app integrates multiple services into a single seamless interface,” Atkins explained. “The user does not toggle between separate systems to complete related tasks. Instead, integration occurs invisibly behind the scenes.”
The memorandum of understanding represents the most formal attempt yet by the two agencies to harmonize their approach to cryptocurrency regulation. The move signals a departure from years of jurisdictional disputes that have complicated the development of U.S. digital asset markets.
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Industry participants have long called for clearer regulatory coordination, citing compliance costs and uncertainty as barriers to market development. The new framework could address these concerns by establishing transparent pathways for product approval and regulatory engagement.
The CFTC has been developing its own crypto agenda, including rules for decentralized finance and prediction markets, which could benefit from the closer coordination outlined in the SEC’s announcement. Joint regulatory action could accelerate the establishment of comprehensive U.S. cryptocurrency rules.
The memorandum is expected to formalize many of these coordination mechanisms into binding agreements between the agencies. Details on implementation timelines and specific procedures are expected to emerge as the agencies finalize the document.
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