Mark Uyeda, the acting chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, has suggested that the agency might explore a regulatory ‘sandbox’ aimed at cryptocurrency firms that are looking to engage in trading tokenized securities.
Uyeda expressed these thoughts during an opening address at the SEC’s Crypto Task Force’s second roundtable discussion focusing on crypto trading.
According to the acting chair, this framework would enable both registered and unregistered exchanges to offer tokenized securities. It represents a step toward clearer regulations, as a federal framework is essential for preventing a confusing “patchwork of state licensing requirements.”
“We should consider whether there may be a more efficient method of regulation,” he remarked.
Uyeda recognizes the potential benefits for market participants interested in providing both tokenized securities and non-security crypto assets. Should this initiative be implemented, participants would require only a single SEC license. National securities exchanges would have the capability to introduce both registered and unregistered crypto assets to investors.
With such clarity in regulations, crypto firms would no longer need to seek trading licenses for crypto assets across all fifty states.
“While the SEC endeavors to create a long-term solution for crypto trading regulations, a temporary, conditional exemptive relief framework for both registrants and non-registrants could foster greater innovation with blockchain technology in the U.S. in the short term,” he further noted.
The SEC is engaging with market participants whose offerings facilitate trading of tokenized securities to gather input on how the application of exemptive relief could work.
This latest initiative from the SEC aligns with broader efforts to strengthen the blockchain and crypto sectors during the Trump administration. In addition to various regulatory proposals concerning stablecoins, there is an executive order related to a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. Moreover, President Trump has enacted legislation that reverses the Internal Revenue Service’s broker rule.