The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) announcement of a comprehensive crypto regulatory overhaul signals the biggest change in US financial policy in years. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins’ commitment to integrate digital assets into Wall Street’s trading infrastructure—by clarifying broker-dealer rules, allowing national exchanges to handle crypto, and removing long-standing compliance hurdles—represents a much-needed shift. After years of enforcement driven by litigation under the Biden administration, which stifled innovation and marginalized US exchanges, Washington is finally indicating that digital assets belong within the mainstream of American capital markets.
Even as the SEC’s agenda promises many new exchange-traded products, analysts caution against mistaking regulatory progress for guaranteed market acceptance. The easing of crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) approvals could trigger a wave of offerings as soon as October. History shows that once standard listing criteria are established, issuers will rush to introduce products linked to a variety of digital assets. But as Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan points out, “the mere existence of a crypto ETP does not guarantee significant inflows.” Investor interest relies on confidence in the underlying asset, not just easier access. Products based on weaker tokens may struggle, while only those connected to widely trusted or rebounding networks are likely to succeed.
Around the world, new financial architecture is being built at speeds that should worry US regulatory bodies and banks. China and the BRICS economies are not simply creating more channels for speculative investment; they are embedding blockchain into sovereign infrastructure. Beijing’s Digital Yuan—the e-CNY—integrates into domestic commerce as programmable money, with smart contract features allowing Beijing to exercise real-time oversight over transactions. China has spent the past decade building new financial foundations, powered by state-backed digital currency and blockchain infrastructure, to explicitly reduce reliance on the dollar. When paired with the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), China now possesses an alternative financial channel to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) that is increasingly attractive to states wary of US sanctions.
Russia has launched its own System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS), linking it with CIPS. BRICS Pay aims to facilitate local-currency settlements: initiatives that were once seen as marginal but are now central to a multipolar order. Moscow’s SPFS and the BRICS Pay initiative are designed to process real payments outside US oversight.
Blockchain acts as a force multiplier. China and its partners are integrating distributed ledger technologies into sovereign and cross-border systems, enhancing transparency and efficiency while minimizing exposure to Western financial chokepoints. Unlike in the US—where blockchain remains mostly linked to speculative assets—BRICS countries are developing state-led infrastructures. For sanctioned actors, privacy coins like Monero, along with central bank digital currencies designed to bypass SWIFT, establish sanction-resistant channels that directly challenge American economic pressure.
US sanctions rely on the centrality of the dollar and America’s dominance over clearing systems like SWIFT and Clearing House Interbank Payments System. As alternatives mature, the leverage of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control diminishes. Already, the dollar’s share of global reserves has slipped from 71 percent in 1999 to under 58 percent in 2024, the lowest in three decades. Diversification into gold and nontraditional currencies reflects both hedging and deliberate resistance to US financial coercion.
De-dollarization is accelerating as competitors explore yuan-denominated commodities, gold-backed reserves, and blockchain systems that bypass US networks. Crypto faces a crossroads: Its decentralized networks offer both a hedge against dollar dependence and a potential link to alternative payment methods. For Washington, the challenge is not only to sustain the dollar’s dominance, but to also ensure that digital systems replacing traditional finance remain connected to US legal and regulatory control.
The United States has significant advantages: strong capital markets, public trust in institutions, and the dollar’s unmatched liquidity. However, these strengths won’t last on their own. The US has lowered standards in 5G and AI; doing the same in finance would be a problem. The global monetary system is falling apart, and efforts to shape its future are already underway.
The race is about more than adoption and implementation; it’s about who writes the rules. Standards such as ERC-3643 determine which compliance features are embedded into the next generation of finance. The SEC’s reforms, then, must be seen in this broader context. Integrating crypto into Wall Street is about unlocking new asset classes for American investors, just as it is about preserving US financial leadership in a world where rivals are building sanction-proof infrastructures. If US regulators set transparent standards that achieve global buy-in, American influence extends; if not, American firms will find themselves following rules written in Beijing, Brussels, or Brazil.
The SEC’s shift is a good first step, but it’s only the beginning. Without a clear plan that combines domestic innovation with global leadership, the US risks letting others set the rules in the digital financial world.