SEC to vote on Reg Crypto framework as XRP nears $1

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will hold an open meeting Aug. 14 at 10:00 a.m. ET to consider proposing "Regulation Crypto Assets," a tailored offering regime for certain investment contracts involving digital assets.

"We view this as the first of several rulemakings the SEC will undertake to provide regulatory certainty for crypto assets after the Senate failed before the August recess to advance the Clarity Act on crypto market structure," Jaret Seiberg, analyst at TD Cowen, said in a client note.

The proposal, announced Monday night with unusually short notice, would create a pathway for crypto firms to raise capital without triggering full SEC registration requirements. It follows the Senate's failure to hold even a procedural vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act before recess. The three-member commission, all Republicans, will vote on whether to issue the proposal for public comment. A typical comment period runs two to three months, followed by a potentially lengthy rewrite before final rules.

The rulemaking marks the SEC's first formal attempt to codify crypto policy under Chair Paul Atkins, who has repeatedly called for congressional guardrails but is now moving ahead with agency-level rules. Market participants are watching XRP closely — the token traded at $1.0062, down 0.84% in the latest four-hour session, approaching the psychological $1.00 support level as the broader crypto market fell 1.57% to $2.18 trillion.

XRP Tests $1 Support as Derivatives Demand Climbs

XRP's relative strength index dropped to 30.77, near oversold territory, while the MACD line remained below its signal line, indicating continued bearish momentum. A confirmed break below $1.00 could expose $0.98 and then $0.95. Recovery above $1.02 would shift focus to the $1.05 resistance, with $1.08 and $1.10 as subsequent targets.

Derivatives activity tells a different story. XRP open interest climbed 8.74% to $2.71 billion, while trading volume rose 37% to $1.80 billion, suggesting traders added exposure even as spot prices weakened. Options volume surged 68.97% to $1.25 million, with options open interest up 1.37% to $59.19 million.

The SEC's move comes as the agency and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission work on a joint taxonomy to define how they view various crypto assets and which jurisdiction each falls under. Atkins has also flagged tokenized securities as a marquee initiative, though Reg Crypto is the first formal rulemaking to reach the commission vote stage.

The CLARITY Act still has a narrow chance for action next month — a cloture vote is scheduled for Sept. 15 — but the SEC's decision to proceed with its own rulemaking shows the agency is not waiting for Congress. If adopted, Reg Crypto could reduce reliance on exemptions like Regulation D and Regulation A, which many projects currently use to raise funds without full registration.

For issuers, the framework could provide a clearer path to public offerings of tokenized securities, potentially attracting institutional capital that has been hesitant to enter the space. However, compliance costs and the scope of what qualifies as an "investment contract" under the Howey Test remain open questions that will be tested during the comment period.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.