As the U.S. federal government resumed operations in mid-November 2025, financial markets and regulators alike found themselves at a pivotal crossroads. According to The Block, analysts at investment bank TD Cowen underscored that this reopening marks the beginning of a crucial period for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is now poised to shape the future of cryptocurrency regulation under the stewardship of Chairman Paul Atkins. The next twelve months, they argue, could well define the legacy of Atkins’ tenure and set the tone for how digital assets are governed in the United States.
This regulatory turning point comes on the heels of the longest government shutdown in recent memory. With the gears of federal agencies grinding back into motion, market attention has zeroed in on Atkins’ policy agenda. The TD Cowen Washington research team, led by Jaret Seiberg, stated in a recent report: "After the government restarts, the SEC will face the most important 12 months of Chairman Atkins' tenure, and his deregulatory agenda will enter a substantive phase."
Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025, the SEC has moved swiftly to clarify its stance on the fast-evolving crypto sector. The commission has issued staking guidelines, convened roundtable meetings, and launched a sweeping rule modernization initiative dubbed the "Crypto Plan." Most notably, on November 10, Atkins unveiled a token classification scheme designed to draw clearer lines around when digital assets should be considered securities—a move seen as foundational for both innovation and investor protection.
Seiberg and his team at TD Cowen expect the SEC to begin rolling out formal proposals in the coming months, with an eye toward finalizing new rules by 2027. Given the often lengthy process from proposal to implementation—sometimes stretching up to two years—the timeline allows for judicial review and industry feedback, with the ultimate goal of having regulations in place by the end of 2028. "We expect SEC Chairman Atkins to provide exemptive relief to online brokers and crypto platforms, paving the way for them to conduct tokenized equity business," Seiberg noted, highlighting the commission’s focus on fostering innovation while maintaining market integrity.
But Atkins’ agenda doesn’t stop at crypto. As The Block reports, he is also pushing for reforms in areas such as semi-annual disclosure requirements for public companies and expanding retail investor participation in alternative investments. Still, it’s the crypto sector—and tokenized equity assets in particular—that has captured much of the industry’s attention. With crypto companies racing to launch blockchain-based equity tokens, the potential for these digital assets to compete directly with traditional brokerages is significant. The SEC’s willingness to grant exemptive relief could prove transformative, opening the door for a new era in capital markets.
Meanwhile, the broader financial landscape has been anything but calm. According to Reuters, Wall Street appeared set to rebound on November 17 after a rocky week for tech stocks, with all eyes on Nvidia’s upcoming earnings report. Nasdaq futures were up about 0.6% ahead of the market open, signaling cautious optimism. Yet, the world’s best-known digital token, Bitcoin, continued its downward slide over the weekend, hitting its lowest point since April and marking a 26% drop from its October peak. This sharp fall, despite a bounce in tech shares on Friday, has left many investors wondering whether the digital asset’s fortunes are still tied to the sentiment swirling around big tech.
Adding to the complexity, chip stocks in Asia saw a boost as Samsung Electronics raised prices of certain memory chips by as much as 60% compared to September, a response to the global race to build AI data centers. This surge reflects both the growing demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure and the supply constraints that have become a hallmark of the post-pandemic economy.
The macroeconomic backdrop has also been shifting. The U.S. September payrolls report, due later in the week, was already deemed too outdated to sway current policy or market sentiment. Instead, investors and policymakers turned their attention to the New York Fed’s November manufacturing survey for a timelier read on economic activity. Federal Reserve officials, for their part, continued to push back against the prospect of another interest rate cut in 2025. Money markets now assign only a 40% probability to a cut in December, with a quarter-point reduction not fully priced in until March 2026.
Behind the scenes, the Federal Reserve has been grappling with recent money market tightness, prompting it to end its balance sheet runoff starting in December. New York Fed President John Williams met with Wall Street banks on November 12 to discuss the standing repo facility—a key tool for monetary policy implementation. As a spokesperson for the New York Fed explained to Reuters, "President Williams convened the New York Fed's primary trading counterparties to continue engagement on the purpose of the standing repo facility as a tool of monetary policy implementation and to solicit feedback that ensures it remains effective for rate control."
Internationally, economic and political developments added further layers to the market’s mood. Japan’s economy contracted nearly 2% in the third quarter—the first such decline in six quarters—primarily due to U.S. tariffs, according to Japanese government data. This contraction, though less severe than forecast, underscores the interconnectedness of global trade and monetary policy. In Europe, the euro gained ground relative to both the dollar and yen, a rare move that some analysts attributed to the volatility in U.S. tech stocks.
Political headlines were also swirling. President Trump reversed his earlier position and urged Republicans in Congress to vote for the release of files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a move that drew significant attention on Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, diplomatic tensions simmered in East Asia, as Beijing called on its citizens to refrain from traveling to Taiwan amid escalating disputes.
On the corporate front, Alphabet shares jumped 5.5% in premarket trading after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a stake, signaling investor confidence in the tech giant even as the sector navigates choppy waters. And as the COP30 climate summit continued in Brazil, the decade since the Paris Agreement was marked by a tripling of renewable energy consumption and a more than seven-fold increase in solar power, according to the Energy Institute’s 2024 review. Yet, as ROI Energy columnist Ron Bousso observed, the path to a sustainable energy future remains “fractured, bumpy and lengthy.”
For investors grappling with persistent inflation, the search for income has spurred renewed interest in dividend growth stocks, fixed-rate bonds, and preferred shares. As Marty Fridson wrote for ROI, these instruments offer a way to manage risk while generating reliable returns—a strategy that may prove especially relevant as markets adjust to the new regulatory and economic realities of late 2025.
With the SEC’s regulatory agenda gaining momentum, the Federal Reserve navigating monetary policy challenges, and global markets responding to shifting political and economic winds, the months ahead promise to be anything but dull for investors, policymakers, and industry leaders alike.
