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Please find written input submissions to the Crypto Task Force below. The written input is posted without modification. We hope sharing the submissions will help encourage productive dialogue and continued engagement. Please note that the “Key Points” and “Topics” are AI generated. AI can make mistakes, and the Key Points and Topics are not a replacement for you reading the submissions. The Crypto Task Force has not reviewed these AI-generated summaries for accuracy or completeness. If you believe a Key Point or Topic is inaccurate, please email the Crypto Task Force at crypto@sec.gov. The written input provided to the SEC and posted on this page does not necessarily reflect the views of the Crypto Task Force or others in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The proposed modernization advocates amending the Custody Rule to allow registered investment advisers (RIAs) to safeguard client crypto assets using non-qualified custodian (non-QC) solutions under a reasonableness standard, ensuring assets remain secure and fiduciary duties are met.
Introducing flexibility to permit both QC and non-QC safeguarding solutions mitigates operational frictions, reduces concentration risk, and aligns custody practices with the unique properties of crypto assets, while maintaining compliance with the Custody Rule’s core tenets.
The model framework leverages multi-signature/multi-party computation (MS/MPC) technology, contractual agreements (MPA), and operational security standards to satisfy policy objectives of segregation, safeguarding, and independent verification without mandatory third-party custody.
SIFMA refuted claims by DeFi Education Fund that it previously supported broad exemptive relief for emerging technologies, clarifying that its advocacy focused on structured regulatory reform through formal rulemaking and statutory authority.
SIFMA opposed the SEC’s 2022 Proposal to redefine “exchange” under Rule 3b-16, citing concerns that the inclusion of undefined terms like “communication protocol systems” would improperly expand regulatory scope to systems operated by broker-dealers and investment advisers.
SIFMA recommended a limited volume exemptive framework under the Exchange Act, tailored to address specific market challenges, rather than blanket exemptions for DeFi platforms.
Zack Tickman, Claude & Friends: Risk Analytics Research Group
Custody, RFI Responses, Safe Harbor, Security Status
Zcash and Aleo rely on zkSNARKs requiring a “trusted setup,” which introduces a permanent trust assumption. If the setup’s entropy (“toxic waste”) is not securely destroyed, it could allow undetectable token counterfeiting, undermining supply integrity.
Zcash’s opt-in privacy model results in most transactions being transparent, enabling deanonymization through statistical analysis. This undermines its claim to privacy-preserving status and exposes users to surveillance risks.
Aleo’s programmable privacy increases protocol complexity, which has led to real-world data leaks (e.g., unencrypted KYC data). This complexity heightens the likelihood of implementation flaws, expanding the attack surface and compromising user privacy.
Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA)
Tokenized securities traded via DeFi or CeDeFi platforms must comply with U.S. securities laws, including the Exchange Act, regardless of claims of decentralization or minimal intermediary involvement.
A clear and nuanced taxonomy is essential to distinguish between natively issued digital securities, wrapped tokens, SBS, and non-security instruments, ensuring proper application of securities laws and investor protections.
Fragmentation between tokenized and traditional securities markets poses risks to market integrity, and regulators must ensure fungibility, consistent trade reporting, and integration with existing infrastructures like Reg NMS, CAT, and SIPC.
The "Chains of Trust" model enables cryptographic self-certification of digital identities and data, which can enhance customer due diligence and reduce synthetic identity fraud in digital asset markets.
Institutions can use VDCs to attest to a customer’s compliance status without transmitting sensitive personal data repeatedly, supporting privacy and interoperability across financial institutions.
Linking legal entity identifiers to VDCs provides cryptographic proofs of beneficial ownership, while immutable provenance records offer regulators and law enforcement reliable audit trails for supervisory and enforcement purposes.
The SEC has jurisdiction over leveraged crypto ETFs and related securities products, and has previously blocked filings for extreme 5x leveraged ETFs to protect investors.
Leveraged crypto instruments offered to U.S. persons via unregistered platforms may fall under SEC oversight, especially when tied to assets potentially classified as securities.
Joint SEC-CFTC efforts in 2025 have initiated regulation of onshore perpetual contracts with leverage limits, but offshore platforms remain largely unregulated, posing risks to U.S. retail investors.
DeFi Education Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, The Digital Chamber, Orca Creative, J.W. Verret, and Uniswap Foundation
The letter argues that Citadel’s attempt to classify all entities and technologies involved in DeFi transactions as SEC-registered intermediaries is legally flawed, as autonomous software and developers without custody or control over user assets do not meet the statutory definitions of “broker” or “dealer.”
The signatories assert that expanding the definitions of “exchange” and “broker-dealer” to include DeFi protocols exceeds the SEC’s statutory authority and risks misclassifying non-intermediary software infrastructure, undermining innovation and regulatory clarity.
The letter supports notice-and-comment rulemaking for tokenized equities but urges the SEC to adopt frameworks—such as safe harbors—that distinguish between centralized and decentralized systems, ensuring that only entities posing traditional risks are subject to registration.
The framework proposes that Solana-based ETP issuers provide periodic public disclosures detailing validator allocations, concentration policies, and incidents, enabling the SEC to monitor systemic risks without prescribing protocol-level changes.
The SEC is urged to formally acknowledge that stake concentration in Solana ETPs poses material investor protection risks, including transaction censorship, governance capture, and network halts, thereby falling squarely within its jurisdiction.
Validators receiving ETP stake must disclose governance voting intentions and maintain independence from issuers and custodians to prevent proxy-advisory style influence and ensure fair market access.
GUARDD urges the SEC to use its exemptive authority under Section 36 of the Exchange Act to formally recognize "Qualified Disclosure Publishers" (QDPs), enabling compliant secondary trading of exempt and tokenized securities without requiring full Exchange Act reporting.
The proposal includes a request for federal preemption of inconsistent state Manual Exemption provisions, aiming to streamline secondary trading across jurisdictions while preserving states’ anti-fraud enforcement powers.
GUARDD recommends that QDPs be required to publish token-specific data (e.g., contract address, blockchain network, transfer restrictions, audit status) alongside Rule 15c2-11(b) disclosures to support on-chain secondary trading on regulated venues.
The document proposes IP Bonds and IP CDOs as structured financial instruments backed by intellectual property, enabling their use as collateral in debt markets and aligning with international financial standards such as IAS 38/IFRS.
It calls for formal recognition of IP Bonds within existing financial frameworks (e.g., ISDA, ICMA, SIFMA), including their eligibility for repo markets, post-trade transparency, and ESG classification under ICMA principles.
The Eurasian Standard of IP Valuation is positioned as a global benchmark, with requests for WIPO endorsement, interagency working groups, and amendments to IFRS to support on-chain IP valuation and prevent regulatory fragmentation.
