The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s latest document on its examination priorities for 2026 has noticeably omitted its regular section on crypto, seemingly in line with US President Donald Trump’s embrace of the industry.
On Monday, the SEC’s Division of Examinations released its examination priorities for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2026, which made no specific mention of crypto or digital assets.
However, the SEC said that its stated priorities are not “an exhaustive list of all the areas the Division will focus on in the upcoming year.”
The US crypto industry has boomed under Trump, who has largely worked to deregulate the sector while his family has expanded their footprint into crypto with a trading platform, mining business, stablecoin and token.
“Examinations are an important component to accomplishing the agency’s mission, but they should not be a ’gotcha’ exercise,” SEC Chair Paul Atkins said in a statement.
Paul Atkins giving remarks at an SEC meeting in September. Source: Paul Atkins
“Today’s release of examination priorities should enable firms to prepare to have a constructive dialogue with SEC examiners and provide transparency into the priorities of the agency’s most public-facing division,” he added.
The Division of Examinations is responsible for probing organizations, including investment advisers, broker-dealers, clearing agencies, and stock exchanges, for compliance with federal securities laws.
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Last year, under outgoing SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the Division said it would focus on the “offer, sale, recommendation, advice, trading, and other activities involving crypto assets,” explicitly naming spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds as a priority.
“Given the volatility and activity involving the crypto asset markets, the Division will continue to monitor and, when appropriate, conduct examinations of registrants offering crypto asset-related services,” the Division said last year.
The examination division also wrote a section dedicated to crypto assets and emerging financial technology in 2023.
In its latest priorities list, the SEC said it was focusing on “core areas,” including fiduciary duty, custody and customer information protection.
The SEC said in its report that it will focus on “the risks associated with the use of emerging technologies,” and made particular mention of artificial intelligence and automated investment tools.
A section of the agency’s report outlines that it will also give “particular attention” to firms’ ability to react and recover from cyber incidents, “including those related to ransomware attacks.”
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