Crypto in the United States is not regulated by one agency. It is regulated by several, each with its own mandate, and a single product can touch most of them. These profiles explain what each agency does, who runs it, and what it has done recently, with links to our reporting. Unfamiliar terms are defined in our crypto glossary, and our comparisons put the rules side by side.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The agency that decides whether a token is a security, and the one that has said it will keep writing crypto rules with or without Congress.
Led by: Chair Paul Atkins. Read the profile
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
The derivatives regulator that now oversees prediction markets and is trying to write its own crypto rulebook while Congress stalls.
Led by: Chair Michael Selig. Read the profile
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
The Treasury bureau that charters national banks, and the reason a handful of crypto firms are now federally supervised custodians.
Led by: Comptroller Jonathan Gould. Read the profile
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
The Treasury bureau that writes anti-money-laundering rules for crypto and just scrapped two long-pending proposals.
Led by: Deputy Director Jimmy L. Kirby signed the October 2026 withdrawal notice. Read the profile
Federal Reserve
The central bank is not a crypto regulator in general, but it is writing the rulebook for the stablecoins that now move the most value.
Led by: Chair Kevin Warsh. Read the profile
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
The Treasury office that decides who is cut off from the U.S. financial system, and increasingly the blockchain addresses and exchanges that serve them.
Led by: A Treasury Department office. Read the profile