SEC Proposes Decades-Old Transfer Agent Rules Update for Blockchain Era

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released a major rule proposal to update its decades-old transfer agent rules, allowing for blockchain technology and tokenized securities.

According to Eleanor Terrett, former Fox Business journalist, the proposal marks another step in the agency's push to bring U.S. securities markets on-chain.

The current rules have not seen substantial updates since the late 1970s and early 1980s, with transfer agents maintaining official ownership records in traditional formats.

The new proposal would allow transfer agents to use blockchain as the official record of ownership, requiring firms to report which blockchain platforms they use and how many tokenized securities they service.