US SEC Proposes Guidelines on How Securities Laws Can be Applied to Crypto

Like the SEC, the derivatives trading regulator, the CFTC, is also working to regulate prediction markets.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has inched closer to creating guardrails to ascertain how cryptocurrencies are regulated.

In a recent commission-level guidance submitted to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the SEC outlined how securities laws can be applied to crypto. If followed, the new guidelines could affect how crypto-focused companies register and operate their businesses in the country.

New Guidelines for Crypto Market

According to the OIRA’s website, the guidance was labeled as the “Application of the Federal Securities Laws to Certain Types of Crypto Assets and Certain Transactions Involving Crypto Assets.”

The website shared sparse details about the SEC’s proposal. Still, an SEC spokesperson informed Bloomberg that the financial agency “will consider interpretive guidance around a token taxonomy for crypto assets.” This means that factors such as a crypto’s inherent properties, behavior, and use cases would be considered to determine whether securities laws apply or not.

With these guidelines in place, crypto firms would know how to proceed with registration, operations, and investor engagement. It is worth noting that commission-level guidance has more power than staff-level guidance. Still, it falls short of the requirements to become a rule, which include processes such as public notice and comment.

The latest move aligns with Paul Atkins’ goal of bringing crypto-friendliness to the country since he became the SEC chairman. A few weeks ago, he hinted at the agency’s commitment to establishing structural crypto regulations despite falling cryptocurrency prices.

CFTC Calls for Regulation of Prediction Markets

The SEC is not the only Wall Street regulator advocating for a crypto-friendly regulatory framework. On March 2nd, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) submitted a measure to the White House’s OIRA on prediction markets.

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Michael Selig, the CFTC chairman, shed some light on the prediction markets’ measure, saying:

“We’re going to be setting very clear standards as to what can be self-certified in our markets and what cannot and how to evaluate the different products that are offered in the space.”

The CFTC’s latest move comes amid heightened attention investors give to prediction markets, popularized by leading platforms Polymarket and Kalshi.