The US Securities and Exchange Commission has issued new guidance defining tokenised securities as either issuer-sponsored or third-party models, clarifying how federal securities laws apply.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the SEC said tokenised securities fall into two categories: those tokenised by issuers themselves and those tokenised by unaffiliated third parties.
“Tokenised securities generally fall into two categories: (1) securities tokenised by or on behalf of the issuers of such securities; and (2) securities tokenised by third parties unaffiliated with the issuers of such securities,”
The regulator said.
The SEC said issuer-sponsored tokenisation can involve onchain ownership records or crypto assets that update offchain ledgers, but legal treatment and registration requirements remain unchanged.
“The format in which a security is issued or the methods by which holders are recorded (onchain vs offchain) does not affect application of the federal securities laws,”
The regulator added.
For third-party tokenisation, the SEC outlined custodial models that represent indirect ownership and synthetic models that provide exposure without actual ownership, warning of added counterparty risks.
Responding to the guidance, tokenisation platform Securitise said clear regulatory frameworks are critical for responsibly scaling tokenised securities in US markets.