SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce echoed former Chairman Gary Gensler's call for market participants to "consider meeting with the Commission and its staff."
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce issued a sweeping warning to companies considering the distribution and trading of tokenized securities.
In a statement on Wednesday, Peirce urged companies to discuss their potential tokenized products with SEC officials in the context of "new entrants and many traditional companies [...] embracing on-chain products."
Although the SEC commissioner, who also heads the agency's cryptocurrency working group, did not explicitly mention the trading platform Robinhood, her notice was released about two weeks after the company launched a layer-two blockchain focused on tokenization.
"While blockchain technology is powerful, it does not have the magical ability to change the nature of the underlying asset," Peirce stated. "Tokenized securities are still securities. Therefore, market participants must consider and comply with federal securities laws when trading these instruments."
Peirce's remarks echo the views of former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who frequently called for companies offering cryptocurrency-related products that may be viewed as securities to "come in and talk." However, since President Trump took office and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins was confirmed, this U.S. financial regulator has indicated it is charting a new direction for the cryptocurrency industry.
Robinhood's strategy will allow the platform to offer tokenized U.S. stocks and exchange-traded products to European investors. The company also seems to be aware of the potential implications for U.S. securities law, reportedly submitting a proposal to the SEC in May for a regulatory framework for tokenized real-world assets.
"We are always ready to work with market participants to craft appropriate exemptions and modernize rules when the unique aspects of technology require changes to existing rules, or when regulatory requirements are outdated or unnecessary," Peirce stated.
SEC waits for Congress to establish cryptocurrency market structure legislation
Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives announced plans to advance consideration of a bill to establish clear regulatory rules for digital assets.
The proposed cryptocurrency market structure framework under the Digital Asset Market Structure Act may clarify the roles of the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in regulating cryptocurrencies in the United States.