SEC plans to update transfer agent rules: incorporating blockchain into the securities regulatory framework

According to CoinDesk, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a significant update to the transfer agent rules on September 1, the first since the 1970s. Chairman Paul Atkins explicitly stated that the rules should cover the application of blockchain technology in securities issuance and equity transfer.

Joris Delanoue, co-founder of Fairmint, pointed out that if ownership data is scattered among token wrapping layers, SPVs, broker-dealer internal ledgers, and off-chain databases, it will replay the historical "paperwork crisis" of the late 1960s. He emphasized that the tokens themselves should serve as the official ledger required by Section 17A of the Securities Exchange Act, rather than as off-chain securities wrapping substitutes. The article calls for the industry to integrate ownership data around unified open standards and suggests that the SEC distinguish between native on-chain registration and third-party wrapping models in Form TA-2, allow the use of cryptographic credentials and other modern identifiers, and incorporate pre-trade restrictions on smart contracts into compliance enforcement mechanisms.