Crypto Task Force Meets Blockchain Association on Custody Rules

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Crypto Task Force met this week with leading crypto industry representatives to discuss regulatory challenges, focusing first on custody rules for investment advisers and later on tokenization proposals from Kraken.

On August 27, Task Force staff sat down with the Blockchain Association, Multicoin Capital Management, Blockchain Capital, and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. The meeting followed a June submission from the Blockchain Association, which argued that current custody rules, designed for traditional securities, are unworkable for registered investment advisers handling digital assets. 

The group pressed for an alternative framework that would allow advisers to manage crypto without facing compliance barriers that don’t exist in traditional finance.

Participants in the session included Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger and Senior Counsel Laura Sanders, joined by Jay Stolkin, Deputy General Counsel at Multicoin Capital, and Joshua Rivera, General Counsel at Blockchain Capital. Sullivan & Cromwell partners Colin Lloyd and Aaron Levine also contributed, focusing on the legal complexities around adapting existing rules to crypto markets.

Kraken Brings Tokenization Plan

In the previous meeting, the Crypto Task Force turned its attention to tokenization as Kraken presented a detailed outline for a tokenized trading system. Supported by its legal team from WilmerHale, Kraken explained how tokenized transactions would move from execution to settlement, and how the system’s architecture could support broader market access.

Kraken executives argued that tokenization could make capital markets more efficient, lower costs, and create opportunities for a wider range of investors. But for the SEC, the main challenge is figuring out how to support new ideas without putting investors at risk.

Kraken’s delegation included executives Mark Greenberg, Jonathan Jachym, Emily Gianetta, and Andriana VanderGriend, along with WilmerHale partners Jeremy Moorehouse and Reid Carroll.

Both meetings highlighted the challenge for U.S. regulators: finding a way to modernize rules built for traditional markets while still giving space for new technologies like crypto custody and tokenization. The decisions that come out of these talks will likely shape how fast digital assets are brought into the U.S. financial system.

Also Read: Bitwise Submits SEC Filing for First-Ever Chainlink ETF in US