White House Reviews SEC Proposal to Ease Regulatory Requirements for Crypto Brokers

The White House has begun reviewing an SEC proposal covering financial rules for crypto broker-dealers. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) received the filing as OIRA lists the proposal under regulatory identifier 3235-AN48.

SEC Proposal Covers Broker Capital And Customer Protection

The SEC’s regulatory agenda includes Rules 15c3-1 and 15c3-3. Rule 15c3-1 sets net capital requirements for broker-dealers, while Rule 15c3-3 governs how firms protect customer assets.

In the meantime, the SEC is proposing to amend Rules 17a-3 and 17a-4, which regulate the business records and retention of the business records. The agency’s agenda outlines updates to the requirements as they relate to cryptocurrencies.

An SEC spokesperson told Bloomberg the commission expects to consider “fit-for-purpose rules” for crypto markets.

A previous report described the SEC’s proposals for these broker-dealer rules, along with separate proposals for crypto. The proposals are each assigned an identifier in the agenda for crypto offerings and exchange trading rules. 

White House Review Remains Pending Without A Deadline

According to OIRA, the submission is economically important and is in the proposed-rule stage. The designation includes regulatory activities that have been identified by the federal rules of review to have an anticipated economic impact.

However, OIRA’s record lists no legal deadline for finishing the White House review. The government has not provided the full text of the proposal, nor has it announced a date for its publication.

Accordingly, no documents exist that would show a reduction in any specific capital or recordkeeping requirements. While the draft is being reviewed, the filing does not alter existing requirements for broker-dealers.

Registered Broker-Dealers Expand Tokenized Stock Trading

Early this month, Securitize expanded its tokenized stock offering to 25 equities. The trading service is done through an SEC-registered broker dealer, Securitize Markets, for US customers.

Securitize had announced its set of 12 stocks, and to this list it has now added 13 stocks, including Disney, Salesforce and ExxonMobil.

Securitize issues its Solana-based shares in USDC, with underlying shares providing backing. The company says trading can extend beyond regular market hours, while it continues working toward round-the-clock access. Securitize Markets conducts this trading under existing US securities laws, the company said.