SEC Chair Suggests Rulemaking for Onchain Trading Systems

SEC Chair Paul Atkins has proposed that the agency should engage in notice-and-comment rulemaking to clarify the application of exchange, broker, and clearing agency definitions to onchain trading systems. According to NS3.AI, Atkins highlighted that software applications and crypto vaults do not align well with existing regulatory categories, as a single protocol can integrate trading, collateral management, liquidity routing, and settlement. His remarks come after a staff statement last month indicated that interfaces like DeFi wallets would typically not be classified as brokers.