The American inventory trade, Nasdaq, has urged the U.S. Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC) to develop a transparent and constant classification framework for crypto property, emphasizing the necessity for regulatory readability as digital property proceed to develop.
In a 23-page letter addressed to the SEC’s Cryptocurrency Process Pressure, Nasdaq referred to as for a structured taxonomy to assist outline which company ought to regulate particular sorts of crypto property.
Nasdaq Pushes for 4-Tier Crypto Classification in Letter to SEC
The trade operator proposed categorizing digital property into 4 distinct classes: monetary securities, digital asset funding contracts, digital asset commodities, and different digital property that fall exterior current definitions.
Nasdaq despatched an in depth letter to the SEC outlining a plan to separate digital property into 4 clear teams: securities, digital asset funding contracts, commodities, and every thing else.
I feel having a transparent information now might actually assist form smarter guidelines down the road.— Ian Balina (@DiaryofaMadeMan) April 25, 2025
Nasdaq asserted that this framework would assist delineate regulatory authority between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee (CFTC), relying on the character of the asset.
“Whereas a inventory by every other phrase would nonetheless be a inventory, the present market ecosystem can readily take up digital property by establishing the right taxonomy and calibrating sure guidelines to mirror what is really new and novel about digital property,” the letter said.
In response to Nasdaq, digital property that qualify as monetary securities, comparable to tokens tied to shares, bonds, or ETFs, needs to be handled the identical as their underlying property and controlled by the SEC.
Funding contracts that meet the factors underneath a clarified model of the Howey check would additionally fall underneath the SEC’s jurisdiction.
Nevertheless, commodities could be regulated by the CFTC, whereas digital property that don’t match these classifications could be exempt from securities or commodities guidelines.
The letter, signed by John Zecca, Nasdaq’s Chief Regulatory Officer, emphasised the significance of respecting the present monetary system whereas adapting it to accommodate digital property. “Digital property that represent monetary securities should commerce as they do right this moment,” Zecca wrote.
Nasdaq additionally prompt that regulators create a brand new crossover designation for buying and selling platforms that deal with a number of sorts of digital property underneath a single roof.
The corporate famous that its international infrastructure already helps digital asset platforms throughout six continents, together with buying and selling, surveillance, and clearing providers.
Moreover, Nasdaq suggested that regulators contemplate enhanced oversight or constraints for vertically built-in crypto companies that handle all points of investor exercise, from issuance to buying and selling and custody.
The letter was submitted in response to SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce’s name for trade enter on future crypto regulation.
SEC Signifies Shift Towards Clearer Crypto Guidelines Below New Management
As Nasdaq requires well-defined crypto asset classifications, momentum is constructing in Washington for a broader regulatory reset.
SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda just lately outlined a shift from the company’s prior enforcement-first strategy, desiring to take a extra open and collaborative regulatory tone underneath the Trump administration.
In a CNBC interview through the World Financial institution and IMF Spring Conferences, Uyeda revealed that the SEC has launched a brand new crypto activity pressure targeted on crafting clear, cost-effective guidelines for digital property, an effort he says seeks to reverse the chilling impact previous enforcement actions have had on innovation.
SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda joins us from the World Financial institution in D.C. to debate the @SECGov's shifting stance on regulation, crypto and rather more as the brand new Chair is sworn in.https://t.co/KFTsdeI6ZE
— Cash Movers (@moneymoverscnbc) April 23, 2025
Uyeda acknowledged that years of aggressive authorized actions pushed many crypto companies offshore.
The company is now participating with the White Home and Treasury by joint activity forces on crypto and AI, and internet hosting public roundtables to assemble trade suggestions.
The primary session addressed the core query of the way to apply the Howey Check to digital property, a decades-old normal nonetheless fueling authorized uncertainty.
In the meantime, newly sworn-in SEC Chairman Paul Atkins affirmed his intent to make digital asset regulation a prime precedence, pledging a “principled” strategy to make sure the U.S. stays a world hub for crypto innovation.
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