This version was previously published on Financial Advisor on 2/11/2024, which you can read here.‍

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This week, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce laid out the 10 priorities for the agency's Crypto Task Force, seeking to provide the “regulatory clarity” the crypto industry so desperately seeks. While the agenda is well-formed, it is missing one priority vital to preserving the strength of U.S. capital markets: a recognition that “digital asset securities”—or securities issued on a blockchain—are as important to American financial interests as cryptocurrency.
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While supporting the advancement of cryptocurrency regulations is important, there is a more present need to advance U.S. capital markets infrastructure to accommodate this emerging asset class, and the underlying blockchain technology digital asset securities are built upon.

By doing so, President Trump has the opportunity to oversee what few presidents have: a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. financial market infrastructure, paving the way for decades of innovation and growth that benefit both retail investors and Wall Street.


The timing is right, with technology meeting real market demand. Speaking at the Davos conference in January, Blackrock CEO Larry Fink told CNBC, “I want the SEC to rapidly approve the tokenization of bonds and stocks,” adding, “it would save more money for more people and bring down the cost of ownership of stocks and bonds.”

Regulatory approvals are only one part of the puzzle. Even more pressing is the fact that our current financial infrastructure is technologically unprepared to handle tokenized assets. If our markets are to evolve, they must embrace the future of “digital markets.”

This evolution isn’t wishful thinking—it’s a process already put in motion during President Trump’s first term.


In 2020, under then-acting head of the Securities and Exchange Commission Jay Clayton, the agency introduced the Special Purpose Broker-Dealer (SPBD) license. While arcane at first glance, the SPBD provides a legal framework for how digital asset securities—or securities issued on a blockchain such as equity, debt, structured products, money market funds or other financial instruments—may be held and processed under federal securities laws. Essentially, it is a regulatory bridge between traditional financial markets and blockchain-native assets, setting the stage for faster and more efficient market structure built for the 21st century.


Such a fundamental change is not unprecedented. The last time our capital markets underwent a significant technological shift was in the 1980s, when brokerage and exchange systems transitioned from paper-based certificates to electronic infrastructure. That leap forward reduced inefficiencies, slashed settlement times, and laid the groundwork for new product innovations like exchange-traded funds.


The next step is clear: moving from electronic systems to digital markets that fully leverage blockchain technology. Blockchain-based settlement can happen in near real time, minimizing trade failures. Costs for both investors and issuers may be significantly reduced, thanks to lower operational overhead and a less complex chain of intermediaries. And a plethora of innovative new products can be developed and issued, some of which we are already seeing through the nearly $16 billion in “real world assets” already tokenized.


By prioritizing this, the Trump administration can ensure that in an increasingly competitive and global financial landscape, capital markets innovation remains in America. The U.S. capital markets have long been the gold standard, attracting blue chip companies and trillions in investment. Digital market innovation ensures this remains the standard.


Here’s how the Trump administration can make markets greater…again.
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1. Prioritize digital asset securities. The Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, SEC’s crypto taskforce, and CFTC should prioritize the advancement of digital asset securities innovation with the same urgency as crypto. Conversations about digital asset policy must include digital asset securities, while also clearly distinguishing them from “crypto.”
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2. Incentivize infrastructure development. Policymakers should encourage market participants - broker-dealers, buy- and sell-side firms, and technology providers - to invest in the requisite blockchain infrastructure and regulatory resources to build technology that can be implemented under federal securities laws.
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3. Preserve investor protections. Perhaps most importantly, the White House, Congress, industry leaders, and regulators must ensure that any new rules preserve and protect investor protections without stifling technological progress. The trust that retail and institutional investors place in U.S. capital markets has always been the bedrock of American financial leadership.

President Trump has consistently advocated for robust, thriving American markets. By embracing digital markets, he stands to cement America’s financial leadership for the next century—and usher in an era of market growth and investor prosperity that few presidents have overseen.

Aaron Kaplan is the co-CEO of Prometheum Inc. Its affiliates Prometheum ATS and Prometheum Capital offer an end-to-end, blockchain-enabled ecosystem for the trading (Prometheum ATS) and clearance, settlement and custody of digital asset securities (Prometheum Capital).

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