SEC Proposes Blockchain-Based Transfer Agent Rules

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a significant overhaul of transfer agent rules, aiming to bring tokenized securities onto a blockchain. The proposal, released on September 1, 2026, updates Form TA-2 to require disclosure of how many securities issues keep their master shareholder file on a distributed ledger.

The SEC wants smart contracts to replace traditional stock certificates and paper legends, effectively allowing tokens to serve as official shareholder records. This change would enable tokenized equities to settle and clear at scale in the US, rather than trading as wrapper products on the edges of the real market.

The proposal also sets a single retention period for most records and reframes the old safeguarding rule as a cybersecurity and business-continuity requirement. Commissioner Mark Uyeda stated that the Commission had gone four decades without a significant update, drifting towards a 'regulation-by-enforcement approach' that provided neither clarity nor predictability.

The SEC is seeking public comments on the proposal, which will be open for 60 days from publication in the Federal Register. Expect a fight between legacy transfer agents and newer crypto custody and onchain infrastructure firms pushing the Commission to move further and faster.