Grayscale Identifies Three Potential Beneficiaries

Public blockchain activity could expand under proposed U.S. fundraising rules, Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl wrote in an Aug. 19 analysis identifying Ethereum, Solana and BNB Chain as potential beneficiaries. The Grayscale assessment of Regulation Crypto Assets connects the proposal with a broader investor focus on blockchains supporting token issuance, stablecoins, and decentralized finance.

“The SEC has proposed Reg Crypto, a set of rules that would facilitate token-based fundraising,” Pandl stated, summarizing the proposal’s potential implications for public blockchain networks. He added:

“This blockchain use case has been hindered by regulatory ambiguity, but the new guidelines could help unlock and drive value to the underlying networks, such as Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain.”

The analysis covers both the networks and their native tokens, while presenting any potential gains as conditional rather than certain. Smart contract platforms such as Ethereum provide infrastructure for digital assets and decentralized applications, extending cryptocurrency beyond payments and stores of value.

SEC Proposal Creates Two Offering Paths

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed Regulation Crypto Assets on Aug. 18 to establish tailored exemptions for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets. One path would permit eligible issuers to raise up to $5 million over four years, while a second would allow offerings reaching $75 million during each 12-month period. The proposed $75 million crypto offering path would carry expanded disclosure and reporting obligations.

Eligible issuers would need to provide investors with narrative disclosures, while companies using the larger exemption would also submit financial statements and ongoing reports. Under the SEC Regulation Crypto Assets proposal, both routes would remain subject to federal antifraud and antimanipulation provisions.

The proposed conditional safe harbor builds on the SEC’s March interpretation of crypto assets and investment contracts. Under specified conditions, a crypto asset could cease being subject to an investment contract and therefore fall outside corresponding federal securities requirements.

SEC officials have presented tailored exemptions as one way to reduce incentives for blockchain developers and token issuers to operate outside the United States. The SEC’s effort to bring crypto issuers back to U.S. markets reflects a wider policy shift toward creating defined domestic routes for digital-asset businesses while retaining investor protections.

Token Fundraising Differs From Tokenized Stocks

The proposed system concerns newly issued crypto assets used to finance blockchain projects, rather than digital representations of existing public-company shares. These tokens may provide access to networks, applications, or services while also raising capital for their development.

Unlike newly issued fundraising tokens, tokenized equities can use several ownership structures to represent existing public-company shares or related claims on blockchain infrastructure. The structure determines investors’ ownership rights and the applicable disclosure and securities requirements.

Separately, the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are coordinating oversight of securities and derivatives markets. The SEC-CFTC regulatory harmonization initiative seeks clearer jurisdictional boundaries and fewer overlapping requirements for platforms operating across both markets, while the SEC separately develops its token-based fundraising framework.

Explaining how greater issuance could affect the networks and their native assets, Pandl wrote:

“If the new rules can stimulate more issuance activity, that will bring more US issuers and investors onchain and likely drive value back to the underlying blockchains and their native tokens, including ETH, SOL, and BNB.”

Investors evaluating ETH, SOL, or BNB would still face crypto trading and investing risks regardless of the proposal’s outcome. Greater network activity would not guarantee higher token prices, while the final requirements could change following public comments and SEC review.

Regulation Crypto Assets remains a proposal and cannot support compliant offerings until the SEC completes its rulemaking process. Its eventual impact will depend on the final eligibility standards, issuer participation, investor demand, and the blockchains selected for new token offerings.