The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission are moving ahead with separate initiatives to reshape digital-asset markets, days after the Senate failed to advance a sweeping crypto market-structure bill.
The SEC on Sept. 17 granted a five-year, conditional exemption allowing qualifying blockchain-based venues to trade certain tokenized U.S. stocks without being treated as traditional securities exchanges under existing rules. The agency also provided limited relief for certain liquidity providers from dealer-registration requirements. Reuters reported on the SEC’s five-year exemption.
Under the SEC’s framework, eligible Tokenized Securities Venues can use permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools to facilitate trading in tokenized National Market System stocks. The tokens must meet conditions set by the agency, while trading venues face requirements covering transparency, recordkeeping, technology safeguards and transaction monitoring. The SEC’s order and conditions also require public reporting of specified trading information.
The exemption is intended to give the SEC an opportunity to observe blockchain-based securities markets while collecting data that could inform longer-term regulation. SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda said the agency’s approach is designed to allow controlled experimentation while it evaluates how tokenization could affect trading, settlement and ownership infrastructure. The SEC’s statement said the agency is seeking public feedback on the framework.
The CFTC is taking a broader approach to cryptocurrency markets.
The derivatives regulator has submitted a proposed crypto rulemaking package to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for review. The initiative, titled “Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets,” is intended to establish rules for crypto transactions and markets under the CFTC’s existing authority. The Block reported the filing.
Details of the CFTC proposal have not yet been publicly disclosed. After White House review, the proposal is expected to return to the CFTC for a vote and public comment before any final rules could take effect. CoinDesk reported that the scope of the proposal and the specific assets and market participants it would cover remain unclear.
The CFTC has also issued no-action relief for certain passive software providers, including some crypto wallet interfaces, allowing them under specified conditions to connect users with regulated derivatives markets without registering as introducing brokers.
The moves follow the Senate’s Sept. 15 procedural vote on the Clarity Act, which received 50 votes in favor and 49 against—10 votes short of the 60 needed to advance. The bill itself was not subject to a final passage vote.
With congressional legislation stalled, the SEC and CFTC are using their existing statutory authorities to address parts of the regulatory framework independently. The agencies’ actions do not replace legislation that could establish broader jurisdiction or statutory requirements, but they could determine how portions of the U.S. digital-asset market operate while Congress continues negotiations.
The result is a regulatory landscape developing on two tracks: Congress is still debating comprehensive legislation, while federal regulators are moving forward with exemptions, rulemaking and other actions under existing law.