SEC Proposes Modernizing Transfer Agent Infrastructure, Including Framework for Tokenized Securities

SEC Transfer-Agent Rewrite: Blockchain Comments Due Nov 3

The Securities and Exchange Commission is trying to rewrite a part of U.S. market infrastructure that it says has not been substantively updated since the first federal transfer-agent rules were adopted in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The September 1 proposal would modernize how registered transfer agents keep ownership records, communicate with shareholders and handle securities in an increasingly electronic market. It also explicitly addres…

US – SEC Proposes Modernization Of Transfer Agent Rules, With Significant Implications For Tokenized Securities.

Executive Summary What’s new: The SEC proposed a broad modernization of the rules governing registered transfer agents, including blockchain use in the master securityholder file. Why it matters: The proposal expressly contemplates blockchain serving as the official ownership record for a securities issue, while subjecting that infrastructure to transfer agent controls and new tokenized securities reporting. What to do next: Market participants…

SEC Proposes Modernizing Transfer Agent Infrastructure, Including Framework for Tokenized Securities

The proposed amendments would strengthen existing transfer agent compliance, risk management, and safeguarding standards; permit the use of distributed ledger technology for recordkeeping; and introduce certain new gatekeeper obligations. By Jenny Cieplak, Paul M. Dudek, Zachary Fallon, Dan Gibbons, Robert A. Koenig, Elisabeth M. Martin, Stephen P. Wink, Naim Culhaci, Dylan H. Lojac, and Deric Behar […]