The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has issued new guidance outlining conditions under which cryptocurrency trading apps and wallets can avoid broker-dealer registration. The SEC stated that software facilitating securities transactions with individual wallets will not trigger registration requirements if certain conditions are met. This includes no order redirection, no investment advice, no storage of user assets, and only fixed, neutral fee structures. The agency described this as an interim step to clarify how federal securities laws apply to crypto asset securities.
The United States SEC has issued new guidance outlining conditions for crypto trading apps and wallets to avoid broker-dealer registration. The securities agency concludes software that clears the way for securities transactions with individual wallets won’t trip regulations.
According to the SEC’s new guidance, user interfaces such as websites and mobile applications that support blockchain-based trading do not need to be registered as securities brokers if they meet certain conditions. These conditions include “no order redirection, no investment advice, no storage of user assets, and only fixed, neutral fee structures.”
Further, the SEC stated that this decision is an interim step to clarify the application of regulations relating to crypto asset securities. “This statement is part of an effort to provide greater clarity regarding the application of federal securities laws to activities involving crypto asset securities.”
Last week, SEC Chair Paul Atkins called for Congress to pass crypto market structure legislation, saying that now is the time. In a post to X, the SEC Chair said that the SEC and CFTC are all set to pass it, and the task now sits with Congress.
The SEC has dramatically changed its tune on the crypto sector in the last two years, with the sector growing in importance and relevance in traditional finance. Under the new Chair, Paul Atkins, the securities regulator is now mostly pro-crypto, with several rule changes lessening the chokehold on the industry being passed in the last year.
