An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock
()
or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
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 SEC should provide clear guidance and a streamlined no-action path for blockchain-based clearance and settlement systems to facilitate innovation without compromising regulatory oversight.
The SEC should clarify that when a token represents an already-registered or exempt security, the token itself does not require separate SEC registration, reducing regulatory friction while maintaining oversight over the underlying financial instrument.
The SEC should establish a formal registration pathway for staking services that do not fit neatly within existing securities frameworks, including modified reporting requirements that address staking-specific concerns.
Interop Labs urges the SEC to distinguish between centralized and decentralized interoperability networks and to issue guidance or a safe harbor exempting decentralized, non-custodial systems from intermediary registration requirements.
The document proposes principles for evaluating decentralization, including open-source protocols, public accessibility, permissionless operation, immutability, and distributed governance.
Interop Labs emphasizes that decentralized interoperability networks reduce systemic vulnerabilities and uphold investor protections through protocol-level safeguards.
The SEC should confirm the scope of existing custody rules with respect to crypto assets, as many crypto assets do not fall within the definition of "securities" or "client funds" under the Advisers Act.
The SEC should expand the definition of "qualified custodian" to include state-chartered trust companies and other entities that meet substantially similar standards.
RIAs should be permitted to self-custody crypto asset securities when no qualified custodian is available, with appropriate safeguards and disclosures.
Anderson P.C. supports an activity-based regulatory framework over asset-based classification, advocating for the bifurcation of "security" definitions under the '33 and '34 Acts to provide clearer compliance pathways for digital assets.
The letter urges the SEC to issue interpretive guidance affirming decentralized oracle networks (DONs) as legitimate and reliable price benchmarks under fair value accounting standards and SEC rules.
Anderson P.C. recommends a tailored disclosure framework for network tokens, emphasizing transparency about tokenomics, governance, security audits, contributor incentives, and decentralization milestones.
The utility and real-world use case of a digital asset should be a primary determining factor in whether the asset is deemed a "security" under U.S. federal securities laws.
Digital assets with utility and real-world use cases are more appropriately regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) rather than the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The regulatory approach should avoid excessively complicated, multi-part legal tests and instead focus on practical, usable, and reasonable legal standards.
Custody, RFI Responses, Safe Harbor, Security Status
Proposes a Qualified Self-Custodian (QSC) framework for Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) to self-custody digital assets when traditional Qualified Custodian (QC) options are unavailable.
Emphasizes the need for RIAs to document their fiduciary judgment and implement safeguarding principles to protect investors while self-custodying digital assets.
Requests interim regulatory guidance and potential rulemaking to address the regulatory gap and facilitate secure, legal, and practical self-custody solutions for digital assets.
Tokenized securities should be treated as traditional securities, with permissioned assets transferable across whitelisted wallets using smart contracts to enforce lawful transfers and track ownership changes.
Permissionless public blockchains should be allowed for the issuance, trading, and tracking of tokenized securities, with relevant market participants responsible for evaluating the security and soundness of the infrastructure.
Broker-dealers should be allowed to engage in a full array of activities, including custody, trading, and settlement of tokenized securities, without the need for segregation or special licensure.
Permissionless or open, public blockchains, including decentralized finance (DeFi), are best positioned to enable the SEC to meet its policy goals relating to capital and digital asset markets.
Safe harbor exemptive relief should extend to the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as well as the Securities Act of 1933, and incorporate specific considerations related to DeFi.
The SEC should implement a regulatory sandbox for securities tokenization on open blockchains to develop a new regulatory architecture leveraging open blockchains and complementary technologies.
Nasdaq supports a balanced framework that enables innovative crypto ETP offerings while maintaining regulatory safeguards to protect investors and market integrity.
Nasdaq urges the SEC to modernize its approach and support the development of the digital asset ecosystem on national securities exchanges along more consistent lines.
Nasdaq recommends that the SEC work with national securities exchanges and market participants to establish clear and consistent standards for evaluating crypto ETP proposals.
The SEC should clarify that most digital assets and digital-asset transactions are not investment contracts under current law.
The SEC should use its exemptive authority to make clear that digital assets and transactions without forward-looking contractual obligations are not subject to federal securities laws.
If a safe harbor is established, it should be based on the concept of "control" rather than ownership to determine the applicability of securities laws.
