The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a staff statement explaining how it will interpret broker-dealer rules for software interfaces that facilitate crypto transactions.
In the statement, staff in the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets said that, in some cases, interfaces that “assist users engaging in user-initiated crypto asset securities transactions on blockchain protocols […] utilizing the user’s self-custodial wallet” may not be required to register as broker-dealers. The guidance says self-custodial wallets with such interfaces could be exempt from registration if they do not solicit investors to engage in specific crypto asset securities transactions, do not provide commentary on potential execution routes shown to users, and meet other conditions.
The statement is a staff view and not a formal SEC rule subject to notice-and-comment, but it is intended to give clearer guidance on how federal securities laws apply to activities involving crypto asset securities. It follows several staff statements the agency has issued since President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, a period that brought new SEC leadership many in the industry view as more crypto-friendly.
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce welcomed the staff view but said she prefers a permanent regulatory approach that revisits the broker definition for today’s markets. She added, “Crypto is forcing the Commission to confront its inner demons that have driven it toward ever more expansive readings of the securities laws.”
SEC leadership remains thin. The agency currently has only three Republican commissioners of five seats filled, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) likewise has limited leadership: CFTC Chair Michael Selig is the sole remaining commissioner after Caroline Pham’s departure in December. Some lawmakers have proposed attaching a provision to a Senate market-structure bill that would require minimum staffing levels at the SEC and CFTC before that legislation could take effect.
