This week, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2026 rulemaking agenda (the “Unified Agenda”) was made publicly available (see here). The Unified Agenda sets out the SEC’s rulemaking priorities for the next year, with general timeframes (but these timeframes are guidelines, and should not be considered definite indicators of when rulemakings will happen). The current Unified Agenda includes an ambitious 36 projects at the proposed rule stage, plus two pre-rule items.
Chairman Atkins released a statement on July 7, 2026 (see here) discussing the Unified Agenda and the goal that all of the actions on the agenda be rooted in the SEC’s core mission of protecting investors, facilitating capital formation, and maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets. He highlighted in particular the presence on the agenda of rulemakings that advance the “regulatory framework to reflect the realities of today’s operating environment – embracing innovation and new technology,” in particular with respect to crypto assets and tokenized securities. Chairman Atkins’ statement also stressed his goal of revitalizing the public markets and encouraging IPOs, noting that the Unified Agenda includes a number of proposals that would transform the disclosure regime for public companies, but also noted the importance of the private markets, calling attention to the items on the agenda that would facilitate retail investor participation in private markets.
Several projects on the Unified Agenda are carryovers from the Spring 2025 agenda, which was published in September 2025. These include:
- Crypto: The Agenda includes two crypto-related items, “Crypto Assets” and “Crypto Market Structure Amendments,” both in the proposed rule stage, and both with a target date that indicates these are a high priority for the SEC (most of the proposed rules on the Unified Agenda have an October 2026 target date, while these have a July 2026 target). This prioritization of crypto-related rulemaking is not surprising given the Administration’s and the SEC’s focus on crypto issues; in his statement, Chairman Atkins referenced “President Trump’s goal to ensure that the United States is the crypto capital of the world” and highlighted these initiatives.
- Foreign Private Issuers. Previously included on the agenda in the “pre-rule stage,” in June 2025, the SEC issued a concept release requesting comment on the test for foreign private issuer eligibility. The Unified Agenda indicates that rule amendments to “enhance the regulatory framework governing foreign private issuers” is still a priority for the Commission.
- Updating Exempt Offering Pathways. This is another initiative previously reported on the Spring 2025 agenda, although the scope of this rulemaking is not entirely clear at this time. While it may include proposed improvements to the commonly used exemptions from Securities Act registration — Regulation D, Regulation A, and/or Regulation Crowdfunding – the description of this initiative on the Unified Agenda (in a change from the Spring 2025 description) also indicates that it may encompass “potential amendments to the definition of accredited investor.” Staff in the Division of Corporation Finance have previously made public statements about looking into the possibility of developing an accredited investor examination; it may be that we will see a proposal for such an exam in connection with this agenda item.
- Rule 144 Safe Harbor. Consistent with the prior version of the agenda, the Unified Agenda includes a potential re-proposal of amendments to Rule 144, to increase instances in which the safe harbor would be available. The SEC proposed changes to Rule 144 in 2021 that would have revised the holding period for securities that are acquired upon the conversion or exchange of certain market-adjustable securities of an unlisted issuer, among other changes.
- Rationalization of Disclosure Practices. The Unified Agenda continues to include potential rule amendments to “rationalize disclosure practices to facilitate material disclosure by companies and shareholders’ access to that information.” As Chairman Atkins has repeatedly stressed, it is priority of the current SEC to re-examine its disclosure requirements with a focus on materiality; this initiative may include revisions to Regulation S-K, following on the SEC’s request for input from the public on how the Commission can amend Regulation S-K.
- Shareholder Proposal Modernization. Consistent with the prior agenda, the Unified Agenda states that Division of Corporation Finance is considering recommending rule amendments to modernize Rule 14a-8 to reduce compliance burdens for registrants and account for developments since the rule was last amended. Following on a turbulent proxy season in which the SEC staff did not take on its customary role in the Rule 14a-8 no-action process (see our analysis of the proxy season here), there is significant interest from issuers and proponents in the contours of any proposal put forward by the Commission in connection with this agenda item.
New to the Unified Agenda are several rulemaking initiatives that are already underway, or that have been discussed by Chairman Atkins and others over the last several months as areas of interest. These include:
- Executive Compensation Disclosure Reform. Following on the SEC’s June 2025 roundtable and request for public input on possible reforms to the executive compensation disclosure requirements, the Unified Agenda states that the Division of Corporation Finance is considering recommending amendments to Item 402 of Regulation S-K to rationalize the executive compensation disclosure requirements.
- Financial Institution Resolution Transactions. The agenda includes an initiative to consider rule amendments to “provide clarity with respect to transactions undertaken in connection with financial institution resolution processes.” We posted on this previously, see here.
- Amendments to Certain Proxy Rules. The Division of Corporation Finance is also considering whether to recommend that the Commission “modernize certain rules regarding the proxy solicitation process, including certain filing and procedural requirements relating to proxy solicitations and shareholder meetings, to reduce costs and compliance burdens.”
- Electronic Delivery of Information Under the Federal Securities Laws. This potential rulemaking initiative would address the use of electronic delivery for information required to be delivered under the SEC’s rules, “in order to modernize the Commission’s approach to the use of electronic media and reduce costs associated with paper delivery.”
- Enhancing Retail Exposure to Private Markets. The Unified Agenda states that the Division of Investment Management is considering whether to recommend proposed amendments under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 “to better facilitate retail investor exposure to private markets through registered investment companies and to allow investment advisers to charge performance fees to an expanded set of clients.”
- Regulatory Status of Finders. Potentially addressing a long-standing area of regulatory uncertainty, the Unified Agenda notes that the Division of Trading and Markets is considering proposed rules concerning the regulatory status of “finders” for purposes of Section 15(a) of the Exchange Act. The SEC previously proposed to address the finders issue through a proposed exemptive order in 2020, but did not move forward to finalize the approach.
Other proposals listed on the Unified Agenda that have already been published include Semiannual Reporting, Registered Offering Reform, Simplification of Filer Status, and Rescission of Climate-Related Disclosure Rules. (See our discussions of these rulemaking proposals here, here, here, and here.)
This is an ambitious set of rulemaking projects that, if adopted, has the potential to drastically change the regulatory landscape. The process of notice-and-comment rulemaking takes considerable time, so while market participants should not expect changes immediately — or all at once — there are certainly some notable changes on the horizon for issuers, investors and practitioners.