The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s Crypto Task Force met with representatives of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). In the September 10 meeting, they discussed issues related to regulations of tokenized securities.
According to the memo released by the SEC, SIFMA had requested the meeting on August 7 to discuss seven major agenda items, most importantly, protecting investors and maintaining market integrity in tokenized securities markets. It pointed out the good things about the way the U.S. market works now and why it should be used as a model for new operating frameworks.
There were 20 people at the meeting, 12 of whom were staff members from the SEC’s Crypto Task Force and the others were from SIFMA. Among the attendees were Ken Bentsen, President and CEO of SIFMA, Joe Seidel, COO of SIFMA, and Peter Ryan, Managing Director and Head of International Capital Markets and Strategic Initiatives.
Among other things discussed was the topic of designing an innovation exemption. This included outlining the key considerations for creating a regulatory sandbox framework to test tokenization models within defined limits. Furthermore, looking for ways to innovate within the existing rules, finding chances to try new things and use them within the current regulatory framework.
SIFMA stressed that tokenized securities should still be treated as securities and that any blockchain-based model should keep custody protections, functional separation, and clear ownership rights.
SEC continues to work for better regulations
In August, the Crypto Task Force had a number of meetings with representatives of Kraken, one of the country’s largest crypto exchanges, to discuss the future of digital finance: tokenization and staking.
Furthermore, in early September, the task force also had a meeting with representatives from Robinhood Markets, Inc., its crypto and brokerage affiliates, and outside counsel from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. The main topic of conversation was Robinhood’s crypto asset-related services and the growing debate over tokenizing traditional securities.
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