Fidelity Urges SEC to Accelerate Crypto Regulatory Framework

Financial giant Fidelity Investments has formally urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to move faster on integrating crypto assets into existing market structures ^[1].

The letter responds to a December request from SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, who sought public input on how national securities exchanges and alternative trading system (ATS) platforms should handle crypto asset trading ^[1].

Fidelity outlined four core recommendations. The firm called for continued regulatory progress for broker-dealers operating in the crypto space, acknowledging recent SEC guidance permitting them to custody both crypto asset securities and non-security digital assets as a welcome step — while noting that further clarity on trading and custody practices remains necessary ^[1].

On tokenized securities, Fidelity argued that broker-dealers need reliable classification standards for tokenized assets traded on ATS platforms, and pushed for confirmation that tokenized versions of traditional securities should carry the same regulatory status as their underlying instruments ^[1].

The firm also recommended that the SEC examine how traditional intermediary-based markets and decentralized trading venues can coexist, and sought explicit permission for broker-dealers to use blockchain technology for documentation and recordkeeping — with clarification that facilitating on-chain settlement would not reclassify them as clearing agencies ^[1].