Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Atkins Testimony Targets IPO Burden And Crypto Rules
Feb 12, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Capital Markets and Digital Assets
Image: Freepik/jcstudio
IPO Burden And Market Structure Costs
On February 11, 2026, Paul Atkins, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, delivered committee testimony to the U.S. House Financial Services Committee.
The testimony puts numbers behind a push to cut the cost of being public. It cites $2.7 billion in annual costs to file annual reports and links that burden to a decline in listed companies. It notes more than 7,800 listed companies shortly after Atkins left the SEC in the mid 1990s, then a roughly 40% drop by the time he returned as Chairman. A footnote lists 4,761 exchange listed companies as of September 30, 2025.
Atkins testimony backs the CLARITY Act and testified that the SEC and CFTC intend to now use joint Project Crypto as a bridge while Congress works through legislation, including considering token taxonomy and exemptions for on chain transactions.
Market Oversight Cost Review
The testimony also targets the cost floor of U.S. market oversight. It orders a comprehensive review of the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT), a market surveillance system created under Rule 613 that helps regulators track activity across U.S. markets. The review covers governance, funding, scope, security, and retiring duplicative systems.
His testimony put figures on the record. It cited a 2016 estimate of up to about $55 million a year. It also stated the SEC reduced the originally approved 2025 CAT budget, which included about $249 million in annual operating costs, by about $92 million over the course of the year. He also mentioned that amendments to self-regulatory organizations could save an estimate of about $7 million to $9 million annually.
See: Tokenized Infrastructure Is Changing How Markets Operate
The SEC looks interested in lowering the cost of becoming and staying public, while it reworks how surveillance cost and scope get set in U.S. markets. Fintechs with IPO plans should expect more scrutiny around what truly counts as material disclosure and what becomes removable. Trading, brokerage, and market data firms should expect CAT related requirements and cost allocation to remain under pressure while the review runs.
Implications for Firms
For Canadian fintechs, this testimony is important for three practical reasons. (1) Many Canadian scaleups raise capital, list, or trade in U.S. markets, so any push to narrow disclosure to material items can change IPO planning and ongoing reporting work. (2) Firms that run U.S. broker dealer, ATS, or market data relationships can expect changing surveillance cost and scope expectations as the Consolidated Audit Trail review progresses. (3) Canadian crypto and tokenized finance firms that serve U.S. customers or counterparties should expect token classification and control evidence to become a harder gate if Project Crypto produces a taxonomy and on chain exemptions.
Talking Point
If token taxonomy becomes the bridge before Congress finishes crypto legislation, what becomes the first trust test for builders, asset classification discipline, market integrity controls, or operational readiness under stress?
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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