The American Securities Transfer Association wrote to the SEC: Third-party tokenized stocks pose risks and should prioritize the issuer authorization model
According to CoinDesk, as the competition for tokenization in the capital markets heats up, the Securities Transfer Association (STA) recently submitted a letter of opinion to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), warning that stock tokens issued by third-party organizations may undermine market integrity and calling on regulators to prioritize support for tokenized securities authorized by publicly listed companies in future rule-making.The STA represents several Wall Street transfer agents, whose members believe that true tokenized stocks should be formally authorized by the issuing company and recorded in the official shareholder register, rather than created as "packaged" token products by independent platforms.The association pointed out that third-party stock tokens may confuse investors about the actual rights they hold and expose them to risks related to platform credit, custody, and operations, without establishing a direct legal relationship with the publicly listed company. Therefore, any innovative exemptions, pilot projects, or permanent regulatory frameworks for tokenized securities should prioritize the issuer-supported model.The STA also urged the SEC to reform the existing Direct Registration System (DRS), arguing that the current U.S. securities custody system is inadequate to meet the real-time transfer and settlement needs of on-chain securities, and suggested that regulators collaborate with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) to optimize the digital securities infrastructure.Currently, the global market for tokenized stocks, valued at approximately $2 billion, is primarily dominated by third-party models, including products launched by Ondo Finance and Kraken, while organizations like Securitize and Figure adopt the issuer authorization model.