Fidelity Investments has urged the US Securities and Exchange Commission to further develop rules allowing broker-dealers to offer, custody and trade crypto assets on alternative trading systems.
The asset manager told the SEC’s Crypto Task Force that clearer regulatory frameworks are “critical” for tokenised securities, particularly as instruments vary widely across asset classes such as equities, real estate and private credit.
“Tokenisation models vary significantly in structure and in the rights afforded to holders,”
Fidelity said in its submission.
Fidelity said some tokenised assets represent indirect ownership through securities entitlements, while others may qualify as securities-based swaps restricted to sophisticated investors.
The firm also called on the SEC to bridge the gap between centralised and decentralised trading systems, noting that DeFi platforms cannot meet existing reporting requirements due to the absence of a central authority.
Fidelity recommended allowing broker-dealers to use distributed ledger technology for trading infrastructure and recordkeeping, arguing that updated rules would remove “undue burden” on decentralised systems.
The push comes as US regulators, including the Federal Reserve, FDIC and OCC, maintain that tokenised securities should be treated under the same capital rules as their underlying traditional assets.