The U.S. Securities and Change Fee (SEC) took a serious step towards streamlining digital asset securities settlement by compressing the earlier four-step course of into three in a bid to scale back operational threat for broker-dealers.

The SEC issued a no-action letter on Sept. 25, stating it is not going to penalize any broker-dealer working another buying and selling system (ATS) that trades digital asset securities — in the event that they adhere to the brand new pointers.

In keeping with the regulator, a number of ATS wish to observe a streamlined mannequin in instances the place there is no such thing as a custody over the property traded. Most ATS observe a four-step course of: first, the customer and vendor ship orders to the ATS, second, the ATS matches the orders, third, the ATS notifies the customer and vendor concerning the matched commerce, and lastly, the transaction is settled bilaterally, both with one another or by their custodians.

However the Monetary Business Regulatory Authority (FINRA) requested extra readability on this course of in instances through which the broker-dealer might not take bodily custody of the asset.

Some broker-dealers felt this four-step mannequin uncovered them to an excessive amount of threat. The ATSs requested that they be allowed to streamline the method. In keeping with the no-action letter, this course of would contain:

Step 1 – the customer and vendor ship their respective orders to the ATS, notify their respective custodians of their respective orders submitted to the ATS, and instruct their respective custodians to settle transactions in accordance with the phrases of their orders when the ATS notifies the custodians of a match on the ATS;

Step 2 – the ATS matches the orders;

Step 3 – the ATS notifies the customer and vendor and their respective custodians of the matched commerce and the custodians perform the conditional directions.

Dealer-dealers, underneath paragraph (b) of Rule 15c3-3 of the SEC (the Buyer Safety Rule) are required to “get hold of and keep bodily possession or management of all totally paid or extra margin securities carried by a broker-dealer for the account of consumers.” The rule protects prospects from losses or delays in accessing their safety in case the ATS fails. However this turns into tough when coping with digital property.

The SEC mentioned that broker-dealers that select the streamlined mannequin wouldn’t face any enforcement motion in reference to the Buyer Safety Rule. The letter notes that broker-dealers in search of to implement this course of have addressed issues over their custodial function by noting that they function with a minimal of $250,000 in capital, and that they clearly inform their prospects that the broker-dealer operator can’t assure or take duty for settling trades. They’ve additionally defined that they guarantee they’ve procedures to evaluate safety tokens’ registration with the SEC and that the property adjust to federal regulation.

The regulator, nonetheless, made it clear that the no-action letter “solely addresses an ATS buying and selling digital asset securities underneath the circumstances set forth on this letter and doesn’t in any other case deal with broker-dealer custody or management of digital asset securities.”

Though the letter expresses the SEC’s employees opinion on enforcement, and isn’t a authorized dedication, it’s however another indication that regulatory oversight of digital property is turning into extra refined and nuanced.

The SEC has been extra centered on regulating digital property previously few years and all through the tenure of chairman Jay Clayton.