Securitize Says SEC Delayed Crypto Exemption Over Clarity Act Politics

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been considering an “innovation exemption” that would allow firms to test onchain trading and tokenized securities under tailored regulatory conditions. The initiative matters because existing securities rules can impede blockchain-based market infrastructure, while the Clarity Act seeks to define how oversight of digital assets should be divided between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Securitize President Brett Redfearn, a former director of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets, said on Aug. 20 that the agency held back the company’s application to avoid complicating Senate consideration of the Clarity Act. The SEC had not announced an approval timetable as of that date. Redfearn’s account remains an allegation by the company, and no transaction value or other monetary amount was disclosed.