Securitize is continuing to complete its compliance qualifications for serving Wall Street institutions. The company disclosed that its subsidiary, Securitize Capital, has registered as an investment advisor with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), adding a key license to its existing brokerage, alternative trading system, transfer agency, and fund management services.
This registration announcement comes as regulators begin to examine more specifically which existing securities rules apply to on-chain investment products. As traditional asset management firms move more assets onto the blockchain, compliance requirements surrounding tokenized funds, on-chain vaults, and yield-generating products are also tightening.
The scope of licenses continues to expand.
The company stated that the newly obtained investment advisor registration will make it easier to collaborate with asset management firms and institutional investors to advance on-chain investment strategies. Related products include tokenized vaults and other blockchain-based investment tools.
Securitize has partnered with several major asset management firms, including BlackRock, Apollo, KKR, and VanEck. The company is also the issuer of BlackRock's tokenized money market fund, BUIDL. Securitize was previously listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SECZ.
Regulators are starting to focus on on-chain products
Recently, US regulators have made significantly more pronouncements regarding on-chain investment products. Last week, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce stated that some crypto vaults and lending strategies, due to their different structures and management methods, may fall under the regulatory scope of investment advisors.
Vault products typically involve smart contracts that automatically allocate users' deposited crypto assets to lending markets or other yield-generating strategies. While these products were primarily used in DeFi in the past, they are now being adopted more widely by various platforms to provide yield on customer balances.
Selected vaults worth approximately US$8.6 billion
According to data from Vaults.fyi, select-list vaults currently manage approximately $8.6 billion in assets. As these products expand from native DeFi to a wider investor base, the importance of compliance status is increasing.
Securitize had previously built infrastructure around tokenized vaults. The company partnered with Euler to launch a permissioned lending vault that allows tokenized assets like VanEck's VBILL to be used as collateral while retaining investor access requirements.
Additional information:Securitize is also working with the New York Stock Exchange to design the underlying processes required for tokenized stock exchanges, extending its business from token issuance to trading and management.
