SEC Reopens Comment Period for Proposal Related to the Definition of an Exchange

The SEC has reopened the comment period for its proposed rule Amendments Regarding the Definition of “Exchange” and Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs) That Trade U.S. Treasury and Agency Securities, National Market System (NMS) Stocks, and Other Securities. The proposal, which the Commission initially issued in January 2022, would, among other things, update the definition of an “exchange” in Rule 3b-16 of the Exchange Act. The reopening release “reiterate[s] the applicability of existing rules to platforms that trade crypto asset securities, including . . . ‘DeFi’ systems, and provides supplemental information and economic analysis for systems that would be included in the new, proposed exchange definition.” In addition, the release requests “information and public comment on crypto asset securities trading on such systems and certain aspects of the proposed amendments applicable to all securities.”

The reopening of the comment period is intended to give respondents the opportunity to provide additional feedback in view of developments that have occurred since the proposal’s initial release.

Comments are due 30 days after the date of the reopening release’s publication in the Federal Register. For more information, see the press release and fact sheet, as well as statements by SEC Chair Gary Gensler and Commissioners Caroline A. Crenshaw, Jaime Lizárraga, and Hester Peirce, on the SEC’s Web site.