Nasdaq urges the SEC to consider certain digital assets as "another form of stock"

Source: Cointelegraph Original text: "Nasdaq urges SEC to consider certain digital assets as 'another form of stock'"

According to a comment letter dated April 25, Nasdaq urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to apply the same regulatory standards to digital assets that constitute "another form of stock" as those applied to securities.

The exchange stated that U.S. financial regulators need to establish a clearer classification system for cryptocurrencies, including classifying certain digital assets as "financial securities." Nasdaq believes that these tokens should "continue to be regulated as they currently are, regardless of their tokenization form."

The comment letter points out: "Whether it is paper stocks, digital stocks, or token forms, the fundamental nature of a financial instrument remains unchanged, and therefore should be traded and regulated in the same way."

Nasdaq also suggested classifying some cryptocurrencies as "digital asset investment contracts" with "light regulation," but they would still be subject to SEC oversight.

Since Trump took office as President of the United States in January this year, the SEC has undergone a significant shift in its stance on cryptocurrency regulation.

Under the leadership of former chairman Gary Gensler, the SEC believes that almost all cryptocurrencies, except Bitcoin (BTC), fall under the category of investment contracts and therefore should be classified as securities.

This position has led the agency to file more than 100 lawsuits against cryptocurrency companies for alleged violations of securities laws.

However, after a lengthy Senate confirmation, Paul Atkins, nominated by Trump, was sworn in as chairman on April 21, and the SEC began to assert jurisdiction over a narrower range of cryptocurrency claims.

In February, the agency released guidance stating that meme coins, if explicitly identified as purely speculative and having no intrinsic value, will not be considered investment contracts under U.S. law.

In April, the SEC stated that stablecoins (digital tokens pegged to the US dollar) would not be classified as securities if marketed solely as a means of payment.

In a letter dated April 21, Nasdaq stated that the existing financial infrastructure "can easily accommodate digital assets by establishing appropriate categorization systems and adjusting certain rules to reflect the true innovations of digital assets."

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) is a U.S. private securities clearinghouse closely monitored by the SEC, currently laying the groundwork for the integration of blockchain technology into regulated financial markets.

In March, DTCC pledged to promote the Ethereum ERC-3643 standard for tokenized securities.

Related: SEC attempts to withdraw cryptocurrency ICO securities lawsuit against Dragonchain