The US regulatory attitude is really changing.

Recently, the SEC sat down with several heavyweight institutions—Citadel Securities, Coinbase, and Galaxy—to discuss tokenization regulation. The conversation was intense. The traditional finance side and the crypto side have now put their differences on the table regarding the definition of "decentralization."

However, despite the arguments, what’s truly worth noting is the shift in regulatory thinking: moving away from the previous "fine first, ask questions later" tough enforcement approach, and beginning to explore "how to make disclosure and compliance genuinely feasible." This is real progress.

**A few key signals:**

**SEC Chair Paul Atkins’ stance** has softened. He directly stated the need to find a balance between innovation and investor protection, stressing that new technologies must be given a compliant path. This kind of talk wasn’t common before.

**Coinbase is also signaling a willingness to compromise**: they’re open to having decentralized exchanges (DEX) take on some of the compliance responsibilities of centralized exchanges, as long as the rules are clear. This means the industry is no longer just pushing back, but is seeking an executable framework.

**Citadel’s suggestion is even more direct**: they propose the SEC establish a "sufficient decentralization" safe harbor, making the degree of decentralization the core standard for determining whether securities laws apply. If this proposal is implemented, it would change the entire set of rules.

**My take:**

If a "decentralization safe harbor" is really introduced, the logic that "all tokens are securities" will collapse on its own. The impact on the market would be significant.

In the short term, public chain tokens that are already fairly decentralized, like ETH, SOL, and AVAX, will directly benefit. The same goes for governance tokens of major DeFi protocols. In the long run, the US could very well become the hub for crypto innovation and capital once again.

2025 might truly become the turning point when US crypto regulation moves from a deep freeze to a thaw.

The compliance path is being paved, and the floodgates for institutional capital are loosening. There’s still time to position in leading projects in the decentralization track. Don’t wait until the rules are set and the market has already rallied before you react.