SEC Proposes Blockchain-Friendly Update to Transfer Agent Rules

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed an update to transfer agent rules to modernize them for electronic communications and blockchain-based securities systems. SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the changes would better match how transfer agents operate today, including the use of blockchain technology.

The proposal could give tokenized securities a clearer framework for recording ownership and transferring shares on distributed ledgers. Tokenization is accelerating on Wall Street and across the financial industry as a whole.

The SEC proposed updating decades-old transfer agent rules to reflect electronic communications and blockchain-based securities systems, which could make the rules better suited for modern securities markets and emerging technologies.