U.S. SEC Moves to Refine Crypto Trading Rules as Clarity Act Stalls [Crypto Briefing]

[Financial News] The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is moving to establish detailed rules for crypto issuance, custody and trading, separate from the congressional legislation on market structure known as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. As negotiations in the U.S. Senate over ethics provisions and regulation of decentralized finance (DeFi) drag on, the SEC appears to be building market operating standards first under its existing authority over securities.
According to foreign media and the investment banking industry on the 16th, the SEC recently added crypto-related rules to its regulatory agenda as items under the proposal stage. The plan includes considering a safe harbor that would exempt certain issuers from registration requirements if they meet specific conditions during the issuance and sale of crypto assets, as well as applying broker-dealer rules on net capital, customer asset protection, and books and records to crypto trading.
The agency is also pushing to revise exchange rules so that crypto securities can be traded on alternative trading systems (ATS) and securities exchanges, while also updating custody standards for crypto assets held by investment advisers and funds. However, the timeline in the regulatory agenda is expected to differ from the actual timing of rule proposals and implementation.
In a related report, Park Sung-jae, a researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities, said the SEC's move is a preemptive response that seeks to establish the rules needed for market operation within its current authority, rather than waiting only for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act to pass. Park said, "This advance rulemaking by the SEC will strengthen the foundation for exchanges, broker-dealers, custodians and traditional financial firms to enter the market."
Earlier, the SEC had outlined standards that classify crypto assets into categories such as digital commodities, stablecoins and digital securities, and that apply securities law to activities such as mining and staking. Analysts say U.S. regulatory discussions are shifting from determining whether individual tokens are securities to designing the procedures for issuance, custody and trading in more concrete terms.
However, SEC administrative rules alone cannot determine the jurisdiction of the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Congressional legislation is needed to define oversight of the spot market for crypto assets, the definition of digital commodities and the exchange registration framework.
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act under discussion in the Senate is centered on giving the CFTC authority over spot market oversight for digital commodities and clearly separating the roles of the SEC and the CFTC. But negotiations continue over ethics provisions that would restrict the president and senior officials from participating in crypto businesses, as well as rules for non-custodial software developers, DeFi and stablecoin rewards.
South Korea is also promoting the General Act on Digital Assets and the institutionalization of Security Token Offerings (STO), but the debate has focused mainly on issuers and asset classification. Going forward, observers say the country will also need to design the actual operating framework, including the roles of exchanges, securities firms, banks and custodians, customer asset protection, management of stablecoin reserve assets, foreign exchange transactions and access to Public Blockchain networks.
Han Seo-hee, a lawyer at Lee & Ko, said, "The United States is first building a digital asset regulatory framework and then using dollar liquidity to spread those standards abroad." She added, "Korea should go beyond classifying asset types and design a Korean-style onshoring structure that covers issuance, custody, trading, payment and settlement."

elikim@fnnews.com Kim Mi-hee Reporter