Representatives from SIFMA, Cahill Gordon & Reindel, Citadel, and JPMorgan met with the SEC’s Crypto Task Force to stress that tokenized securities should remain governed by existing federal securities laws rather than a separate framework.
According to an SEC memo, the firms cautioned that permitting blockchain-based versions of stocks or other securities to operate under lighter standards could undermine long-standing investor protections and established market-structure rules. They recommended the commission rely on formal rulemaking instead of broad exemptive relief or informal staff guidance.
Participants emphasized that while tokenization may alter market infrastructure, it does not change the economic reality of securities. Whether issued natively on-chain or through custodial, entitlement, or “wrapped” structures, tokenized instruments are economically equivalent to traditional securities and should therefore remain subject to the same regulatory obligations.
DeFi was briefly addressed, primarily in relation to how exchange, broker-dealer, and market-access rules could apply if tokenized securities trade via decentralized or hybrid systems. Broader DeFi activities, such as lending and governance, were not a focus of the discussion.
The meeting highlights increasing consensus between regulators and major financial institutions that tokenization can modernize markets but does not justify a separate regulatory regime for securities.