- Citadel Securities urged the SEC to regulate decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms trading tokenized U.S. stocks under existing securities laws.
- Crypto community and Blockchain Association criticized the proposal, stating it could hinder innovation and competitiveness.
- Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) backed strong investor protections for tokenized securities without exemptions for DeFi platforms.
- The World Federation of Exchanges opposed an SEC plan for an “innovation exemption” for crypto firms offering tokenized stocks.
In a letter submitted on Tuesday, Citadel Securities, a major market maker, recommended that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforce tighter regulations on decentralized finance (DeFi) related to tokenized U.S. equities. The firm stated that developers of DeFi platforms, smart-contract programmers, and providers of self-custody wallets should not receive broad exemptions from securities laws when enabling trading of tokenized stocks, as noted in their letter to the SEC’s Crypto Task Force found here.
Citadel Securities argued that DeFi trading venues likely qualify as exchanges or broker-dealers under current laws and treating tokenized stock trading differently across platforms risks creating inconsistent regulatory regimes. The letter emphasized that granting broad exemptions would contradict the Exchange Act’s principle of a “technology-neutral” approach.
The proposal sparked backlash from the crypto sector. Lawyer and Blockchain Association board member Jake Chervinsky responded on X, questioning the resistance to innovation that could remove intermediaries from finance. Uniswap founder Hayden Adams commented on X that it was unsurprising a traditional financial market maker opposes open-source, peer-to-peer technology.
Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association, said the SEC should avoid regulating software developers as financial intermediaries, warning this could reduce U.S. competitiveness and encourage innovation to move abroad, as shared on X. She called for regulatory focus on actual intermediaries handling assets.
Similarly, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) issued a statement supporting innovation but insisting tokenized securities must comply with traditional investor protections, as detailed here. They cited recent crypto market disruptions, including the October flash crash, as reasons why established securities frameworks remain important. SIFMA opposed any SEC exemptions for blockchain or DeFi platforms that issue tokenized assets.
In November, the World Federation of Exchanges, representing major stock exchanges, urged the SEC to abandon plans for an “innovation exemption” for crypto companies offering tokenized stocks. This reflects broader regulatory caution around tokenized securities in decentralized systems.
Previously, in July, Citadel Securities stated that tokenized securities should prove successful by providing real market innovation and efficiency, not through regulatory arbitrage.
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