Overview
- SEC Division of Trading and Markets staff, in a Monday statement, set conditions for certain “covered user interfaces” — wallet-linked apps that help prepare and send crypto asset securities trades — to operate without broker-dealer registration.
- Providers must remain non-custodial, avoid any discretion over routing or execution, refrain from soliciting or recommending trades, and let users control key settings like price, size, and slippage.
- If multiple execution paths are shown, interfaces must use objective sorting such as price or speed, avoid labels like “best price,” and connect only to public, permissionless smart contracts rather than internal order books or hidden clearing.
- Fees must be fixed and neutral with no payment for order flow or outcome-based pay, and providers must clearly disclose fees, conflicts, affiliations, how the system works, limits of the tool, and cybersecurity practices.
- The staff view is non-binding and time-limited with a five-year sunset, it does not cover custody, execution, negotiation, or investment advice, and it arrives as the SEC pursues broader rulemaking alongside the CFTC and ongoing congressional efforts.