Token Startup Templum Seeks SEC Clarity on Post-Trade Activities

Regulated token trader Templum wants to clarify how digital assets tracked or tokenized on a blockchain might fit within U.S. securities regulations.

The company is asking for clarity on how these nascent technologies fit into current regulatory schemes, said Templum co-founder and CEO Vince Molinari.

The petition largely looks at the market infrastructure for digital assets, some of which may be unregistered securities.

"We encourage the SEC to provide needed guidance related to post-trade activities in the digital asset space," the petition reads.

Specifically, Templum is looking to the SEC to explain when a blockchain platform must register as a clearing corporation or how a clearing corporation might use blockchain, and when a blockchain platform must register as a transfer agent or tell digital asset issuers when they must use a transfer agent.

It also seeks to know when the SEC might modernize existing custody and customer protection rules to allow for blockchains used to track securities transactions.

Further clarity is needed around the different types of information stored on a blockchain.

Digital assets might simply be recorded on the ledger, or they may be tokenized, Molinari said.

The migration of securities - particularly unregistered ones - to digital securities platforms could happen over the next six to 18 months, he predicted.

"We're not creating an entirely new industry, it exists today. We recognize that these are securities, [and now] we're talking about the private placement marketplace," he explained.