U.S. SEC says software allowing crypto wallet transactions not considered broker
The latest crypto view from the securities agency concludes software that clears the way for securities transactions with individual wallets won’t trip regulations.
What to know:
- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued another crypto-world policy statement, with the staff finding that broker regulations won’t be triggered by software interfaces allowing users securities transactions through self-hosted wallets.
- The statement doesn’t have the force of a rule and joins an increasingly lengthy list of similar findings meant to give the industry some clarity over what’s allowed in the crypto space.
In the latest of the agency’s staff statements on crypto — now a wide-ranging list of views meant to allow the crypto industry to move forward in the absence of permanent rules — the SEC staff said on Monday that the websites or software used by people pursuing securities transactions with their self-hosted wallets won’t itself be considered as belonging to the broker-dealer category. That tracks with the agency’s recent stance that developers should be able to write software without triggering such regulations.
The agency provided a checklist of measures the creators of these interfaces can take to keep them out of the regulatory box, including that it “does not solicit investors to engage in any specific crypto asset securities transactions” and “does not provide commentary on any potential execution route(s) displayed to a user.”
If the interface offers financing, provides investment recommendations, handles user assets, takes orders or executes transactions, it’s no longer outside the agency’s regulatory reach.
