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SEC Outlines Staff Guidance on Crypto Custody for Brokers, Flags Questions for Crypto ATSs

Nonbinding guidance signals operational expectations for crypto market plumbing, leaving key legal definitions unresolved.

Overview

  • The SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets advised broker-dealers on “physical possession” of crypto securities, including safeguarding customers’ private keys.
  • Firms are told to plan for blockchain-specific risks such as malfunctions, 51% attacks, hard forks and airdrops.
  • The statement is nonbinding, though the agency says firms that follow it should not face enforcement.
  • The scope includes tokenized stocks and debt even as the definition of a crypto security remains unsettled.
  • A separate FAQ examines activity at crypto alternative trading systems with emphasis on trading and settlement, according to Commissioner Hester Peirce.