Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, SEC NEWS AND SPEECHES—Chair Atkins and Commissioner Uyeda share their vision at SEC Speaks, (Mar 23, 2026)

By Rebecca E. Hoffman, J.D.

Atkins’s agenda for 2026 is undergirded by his “Advance–Clarify–Transform” strategy.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins kicked off PLI’s “The SEC Speaks in 2026” in Washington, D.C., March 19, laying out his “A-C-T” agenda for 2026, encouraging changes that will “advance” SEC rules, “clarify” regulations, and “transform” requirements.

Commissioners Mark Uyeda and Hester Peirce also spoke at the gathering. Uyeda, noting the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, observed that the advent of our capital markets helped to turn the “pursuit of happiness” from a dream into reality, and that we must continue to preserve all citizens’ opportunity to join in that pursuit by regulating markets without inhibiting them. Peirce commented on the importance of limiting required disclosures to those that are material to investors.

“I want to step back and offer a framework of how [our policy initiatives] fit together as a cohesive whole,” Atkins said, “so that … you understand not only the substance of the SEC’s priorities, but the shared principles behind them.”

Atkins observed a threefold need to update SEC rules: first, to align with current technology, so as not to “remain tethered to the tools or the temperament of a bygone era,” such as paper communication. Second, he said, we must move beyond the prior administration’s method of “regulation by enforcement,” which has resulted in digital asset development relocating beyond our borders so as to avoid such obstacles. Third, regulators should aim to combat the “compliance labyrinth,” he said, which is so complicated, “it sustains entire industries whose sole function is to help public companies to navigate the SEC’s regulatory framework.” Therefore, Atkins said, we must focus on efforts to “advance,” “clarify,” and “transform” the obligations.

Advance. Advancing the rules means working within the SEC’s core mission to address modern concerns, by establishing a regulatory regime around digital investment products, rather than forcing that square peg into the round hole of traditional asset regulation.

Clarify. Rules must also be clarified to elucidate what falls within the ambit of SEC versus CFTC, as well as the banking agencies. “[J]urisdictional ambiguity can stifle innovation just as surely as ill-devised regulation,” Atkins noted. Regulators must collaborate to draw clear lines, he said.

Transform. “The third pillar of my program for this year and next is to transform our rulebook by trimming immaterial requirements that burden the market without a corresponding benefit to investors,” Atkins explained. “Many SEC disclosure requirements that began as a framework to inform have steadily become instruments to obscure, to insulate, and to sustain a highly specialized cottage industry of advisors and consultants.”

Peirce also stressed in her remarks that materiality should be gauged when setting out requirements for disclosures, as a “check on impermissible disclosure mandates.” Quoting from the SEC’s Concept Release on Business and Financial Disclosure Required by Regulation S-K, she explained that “‘disclosure relating to environmental and other matters of social concern should not be required of all registrants unless appropriate to further a specific congressional mandate or unless, under the particular facts and circumstances, such matters are material.’”

Atkins concluded his remarks with a call to “[p]ush us. Make us think more critically about the rules that we write and the decisions that we make.”

Pursuit of returns. The right to the pursuit of happiness includes the right “to choose your occupation, to risk your capital, and to reap the rewards or absorb the losses of your own decisions,” Uyeda said. The “cost of capital” must be kept in check through effective regulation, requiring thorough disclosure of information to allow investors to make informed decisions, and to keep the offerors honest.

“[I]t is not the SEC’s role to decide which ideas are worthy of capital, which business models are viable, or which entrepreneurs deserve a chance,” he said. The market naturally benefits “those with the ideas and determination to pursue [opportunity.]”

With this as backdrop, Uyeda explained to the gathering that the SEC is attempting to update the shelf registration process to help new entrants, and to review Reg S-K and potentially ease disclosure requirements by moving to a semiannual schedule. He also highlighted the importance of private markets: “the seedbed where ideas become businesses.” The Commission is working toward making private asset investment an option for retail investors in 401(k) plans, Uyeda said. “Retirement savers are often long-term investors, and private investments can offer a premium for [their] illiquidity,” he said, noting that illiquidity has been the argument against having private assets as part of a retail investor’s portfolio.

Although the government’s role is to protect investors, “we cannot suffocate innovation under the guise of investor protection,” Uyeda cautioned, noting that markets will “move elsewhere” if the government’s regulations are stifling. He agreed with Atkins that “regulation by enforcement” against crypto assets is a prime example. Entities attempting to engage in digital asset trading have run into enforcement walls, he said, leading investors to seek opportunities overseas. “Regulations should not predetermine outcomes or restrict participation under the assumption that individuals are incapable of making informed decisions,” Uyeda remarked, noting that proposals and rulemaking are in the works to change the course.

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