Exclusive: SEC sees crypto as 'economic growth engine' says Chainlink co-founder

Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is adopting a more constructive stance toward digital assets, with tokenization at the forefront.

“I think it's really great how the SEC has taken to our industry as a source of economic growth that they want to unlock,” Nazarov said in an interview with TheStreet Roundtable. “I definitely got that sense in the meeting.”

Related: What is tokenization? Explained

Nazarov recently met with SEC Chair Atkins, where discussions centered on moving key processes such as compliance, cross-chain connectivity, and transfer agency fully on-chain.

“I think the reception was very positive,” he said, noting the regulator’s intent to make the U.S. “the epicenter of digital asset tokenization.”

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From threat to opportunity

Nazarov described a significant shift in regulatory perception. “I think the regulators are now viewing our industry not as a threat, but as a source of success and economic progress for the United States,” he said.

That change, he argued, will have global consequences. “A lot of the world follows U.S. regulation as a template for how they regulate,” he said.

“So I think what we're actually talking about is a global regulatory pattern that's going to massively benefit our industry.”

He noted that the real-world asset tokenization as the sector most likely to benefit, calling it “the next stage of our industry” and predicting it could legitimize the broader cryptocurrency market.

Roadblocks to tokenization

Despite the momentum, challenges remain. Nazarov outlined three main hurdles: books and records, compliance, and data standards.

“Books and records is where you can store information about ownership in a legal way,” he explained. While some jurisdictions already accept blockchain as the definitive source, U.S. regulations still require records to be kept in traditional bank systems.

He also pointed to transfer agency rules designed to prevent fraud and double spending, as well as compliance obligations like anti-money laundering checks and investor accreditation.

Onboarding processes that take weeks in traditional finance could be automated on chain, he said.

Related: What are tokenized stocks? Explained

Standards for global adoption

For tokenization to scale, institutions will need common settlement, compliance, and data standards. “In the banking sector with payments, SWIFT is a common standard. In the trading world, FIX is a common standard,” Nazarov said.

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“We need the same kind of standardization for blockchain transactions.”

Without those systems, he warned, friction will keep institutions on the sidelines. “For every unit of friction, you lose a customer,” he said.

Chainlink, he argued, is positioned to provide those standards across chains, issuers, and jurisdictions.

“I really see Chainlink becoming this set of standards that gets adopted for defining transactions, having them happen across chains, having them comply, having them work across jurisdictions and legal systems,” Nazarov said.

This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Sep 19, 2025, where it first appeared in the Policy section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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