SEC Chairman: Universal Listing Standard Puts U.S. at the Forefront of Digital Asset Innovation

Source: SEC official website, compiled by Golden Finance. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on September 17 local time that it had voted to approve rule changes proposed by three national securities exchanges to allow for the adoption of generic listing standards for exchange-traded products (ETPs) holding physical commodities, including digital assets. These exchanges can list and trade commodity trust shares that meet the approved generic listing standards without first submitting a proposed rule change to the SEC pursuant to Section 19(b) of the Securities Exchange Act.

SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins said: “By approving these universal listing standards, we are ensuring that our capital markets remain the best place for cutting-edge innovation in global digital assets. This approval helps maximize investor choice and promote innovation by streamlining the listing process and lowering the barriers to entry for digital asset products in the United States’ trusted capital markets.”

“The Commission’s approval of universal listing standards provides much-needed regulatory clarity and certainty to the investment community by enabling a sensible, rules-based approach to bringing products to market while ensuring investor protections,” said Jamie Selway, Director of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets.

In addition to approving universal listing standards for commodity trust units, the SEC also approved the listing and trading of the Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund, which holds spot digital assets based on the CoinDesk 5 Index. The SEC also approved the listing and trading of PM-settled options on the Cboe Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index and the Mini-Cboe Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index, with expiration dates including third Fridays, non-standard expiration dates, and quarterly index expiration dates.