The U.S Securities and Exchange Commission has completely dropped cryptocurrency from its examination priorities for 2026 in a direct nod to President Donald Trump’s pro-industry stance.
SEC’s Division of Examinations unveiled its 2026 roadmap for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, on Monday, November 17, 2025. For the first time in years, the highly anticipated document contains no mentions of crypto assets, digital assets, or related services.
Why the Sudden Silence on Crypto in the Examination Priorities for 2026?
Industry insiders believe this omission aligns perfectly with the booming U.S. crypto sector under President Trump, who has championed deregulation. Even his family dives deeper into the space with ventures like trading platforms, mining operations, stablecoins, and tokens.
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“Examinations are an important component to accomplishing the agency’s mission, but they should not be a ‘gotcha’ exercise,” Paul Atkins, the head of SEC said in a statement.
Atkins added that releasing these examination priorities for 2026 early, allows firms to “prepare to have a constructive dialogue with SEC examiners”.
This in particular is a far cry from the enforcement-heavy approach practiced by Democrats in recent years.
The Division of Examinations is tasked with scrutinizing investment advisers, broker-dealers, clearing agencies, and exchanges for compliance with federal securities laws. They clarified the examination priorities for 2026 is “not an exhaustive list.”
In other words, Crypto firms aren’t entirely off the hook, but at least they’re no longer a standalone target.
This is a major contrast to last year under outgoing Chair Gary Gensler when the division explicitly vowed to zero in on “the offer, sale, recommendation, advice, trading, and other activities involving crypto assets”.
“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 2025 priorities warned.
Dedicated sections on crypto and emerging tech appeared in 2023 and 2024 as well.
