U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission Commissioner Hester Peirce published a question set developed by the SEC’s Crypto Task Force to solicit public input on how the federal securities laws should apply to crypto assets and related market activity. The document frames the questions as an expansive fact-finding exercise rather than a roadmap for Commission action, while noting that the SEC will continue to pursue securities fraud involving crypto assets that are securities, offered and sold as investment contracts, or tokenized securities. The questions span a proposed taxonomy for crypto assets and transactions, approaches to determining security status (including Howey-related challenges), and how the SEC should scope categories that may fall outside its authority, with specific prompts on stablecoins, wrapped tokens, and non-fungible tokens. It also seeks input on whether existing registration and disclosure regimes can be tailored for token offerings, including potential use or revision of Regulation A, and whether a time-limited token safe harbor concept such as “Rule 195” or “Safe Harbor X” should be considered, including possible retroactive availability, disclosure design, and objective decentralization or control-dispersion thresholds. Additional sections address secondary trading and potential platform registration models, best execution and market monitoring in offchain and onchain environments (including maximal extractable value), custody and financial responsibility questions for broker-dealers, investment advisers, and funds (including the Special Purpose Broker-Dealer Statement, net capital treatment and haircuts, and recordkeeping), crypto lending, listing standards for crypto exchange-traded products (including surveillance-sharing agreements and alternative market integrity metrics), regulatory issues raised by tokenized securities (transfer agent roles, onchain records and identity, atomic settlement, and Regulation NMS implications), and the potential role of a micro-innovation sandbox, including cross-border models. The Task Force invites written submissions and meeting requests through forms on the SEC website, requests timely responses to inform near-term options, and states it will accept input on an ongoing basis.
U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission 2025-02-21
U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission Commissioner Peirce releases Crypto Task Force questions to solicit public input on crypto regulatory clarity
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce released questions from the SEC’s Crypto Task Force to gather public input on applying federal securities laws to crypto assets. The questions explore a taxonomy for crypto assets, security status determination, and potential adaptations of existing registration and disclosure regimes, including a possible token safe harbor. The document emphasizes this as a fact-finding exercise, with ongoing input sought to inform future regulatory options.