Today in crypto, US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins offered further clarity on why NFTs generally fall outside securities law, the European Central Bank (ECB) is looking for experts to help build out the digital euro’s real-world integrations, and the SEC approved Nasdaq’s tokenization pilot.
SEC interpretation on crypto laws ‘a beginning, not an end,‘ says Atkins
US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins has clarified how the agency intends to approach digital asset regulation following an interpretative notice issued this week.
In prepared remarks for a Thursday speech at the Practising Law Institute, Atkins said that the SEC would take a different approach to digital assets than its previous “regulation by enforcement” campaign. According to the SEC chair, the agency would first focus on its interpretation of how federal securities laws apply to crypto following the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) last week.
The agency’s interpretation, released on Tuesday,specified that most cryptocurrencies were likely not securities under federal law, with the chairtelling attendees at the DC Blockchain Summit that “only one crypto asset class remains subject to the securities laws” under the agency’s interpretation: namely, “traditional securities that are tokenized.”
ECB opens digital euro work on ATMs and payment terminals
The ECB is seeking industry experts to contribute to workstreams focused on how the digital euro central bank digital currency would function across ATMs, payment terminals and acceptance infrastructure.
In an announcement published Wednesday, the ECB opened applications for two workstreams under its Rulebook Development Group (RDG), covering implementation specifications for ATM and terminal providers, as well as certification and approval frameworks for payment solutions.
The roles revolve around defining how a potential digital euro would integrate with existing payment systems and hardware, including support for offline transactions and interoperability with standards used across Europe.
The move signals a shift from policy design toward implementation planning, as the ECB seeks input on how the digital euro would operate across existing infrastructure.
According to the ECB, one workstream will focus on developing implementation specifications for ATM and terminal providers. This includes communication technologies, offline functionality and the reuse of existing payment standards.
The second workstream will develop proposals for testing, certification and approval processes for payment solutions and infrastructure used by payment service providers within the digital euro ecosystem.
SEC approves Nasdaq tokenized trading pilot
The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved Nasdaq’s pilot proposal to support the trading of high-volume tokenized versions of stocks and other securities.
Under the pilot, tokenized stocks would trade alongside their traditional counterparts on the same order book, at the same price, with the same ticker and identifying number and carry the same rights.
Only "eligible participants” can take part in the pilot and the tokenized stocks are limited to securities that trade in the Russell 1000 Index, which tracks the 1,000 largest publicly-traded companies in the US by market capitalization, along with exchange-traded funds tracking the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 indices.
The approval comes after the Nasdaq announced earlier this month that it had linked up with crypto exchange Kraken to allow its clients to move securities from its infrastructure to tokenized versions that can be used on blockchains and to allow public companies to create and issue their own tokenized shares.
