Lawyer’s Perspective: SEC’s Proposed Retroactive Token Issuance Relief Measures May Benefit Utility Tokens and Projects

Odaily Planet Daily News Franco Jofré, lawyer and senior counsel at Miller & Chevalier, said that the retroactive token issuance relief measures proposed by U.S. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce may benefit cryptocurrency companies and projects with specific characteristics. Jofré added that projects that demonstrate strong practical use cases for tokens, rather than purely investment-focused speculative tools, may be eligible for potential relief. "If the SEC provides relief, it may introduce clearer standards to distinguish between security tokens and true utility tokens. For example, tokens issued primarily for access to services or platforms, or those that are structured more like digital commodities than equity substitutes." These include DeFi projects, L2 expansion solutions, and other crypto infrastructures that use tokens for governance and security. The lawyer also said that custodians and centralized exchanges are also worthy of attention. In addition, Jofré and Eli Cohen, general counsel of RWA tokenization platform Centrifuge, said that the SEC has every right to dismiss its lawsuit against cryptocurrency companies for allegedly offering unregistered securities. He added that if the SEC redefines the standards for securities issuance or adopts a new approach to interpreting initial token sales, there will be a greater chance that pending lawsuits will be dismissed. In addition, Jofré said that the SEC may decide not to provide retroactive relief to cryptocurrency companies at all, but only focus on providing forward-looking relief. Consensys lawyer Bill Hughes said that the regulatory approach taken by the new leadership of the SEC is refreshing, but it will take some time to implement changes. He urged the industry to be patient and wait for the new leadership to adapt to its role. (Cointelegraph)