The World Federation of Exchanges has told the SEC in a letter that granting broad exemptions or no-action relief to crypto firms offering tokenized equities could undermine investor protection, market integrity and fair competition, urging that crypto platforms follow the same rulebook as exchanges and broker-dealers.
The filing appears on the SEC’s Crypto Task Force docket alongside other market responses (e.g., Citadel Securities, SIFMA) that argue any relief should be narrow and consistent with existing equity-market safeguards.
For context, SEC Chair Paul S. Atkins has recently floated an “innovation exemption” and a token taxonomy as part of the agency’s “Project Crypto” initiative, signaling potential tailored relief while keeping securities-law principles intact.