More than 100 submissions had been filed by the time comments on the SEC’s Regulation Crypto Assets closed on Tuesday 20 October, The Block reported.
The proposal would exempt certain digital asset offerings from securities registration. A startup exemption covers offerings of up to $5 million. A fundraising exemption covers offerings of up to $75 million, for a one-year period.
The Hyperliquid Policy Center supports the rule but wants the SEC to codify that airdrops given for nothing in exchange are not securities. It says the safe harbour’s certification requirement is one many projects cannot meet. The group also urged the CFTC to bring US oil and compute perpetual futures onshore.
SIFMA, the Wall Street trade body, wants the SEC to address investor protection immediately and to change how issuers opt in. AIMA, which represents hedge funds, asks for clearer disclosure of investors’ legal rights and risks, and for issuers to separate utility or economic exposure from ownership and cash-flow rights.
SIFMA also warned that the five-year innovation exemption makes early design choices especially important.
The innovation exemption took effect in September and is separate. It runs five years, exempts tokenised securities venues from the exchange definition, and exempts certain liquidity providers, including those using automated market makers, from the dealer definition. It opens the door to onchain trading of tokenised stocks.
The comment period has ended, so the argument moves inside the agency. There is no date for a final rule, and nothing yet shows whether the certification requirement survives.
