The Securities and Exchange Commission on Sept. 1, 2026 proposed the most significant overhaul of its transfer agent rules in nearly five decades, writing blockchain-based recordkeeping and tokenized securities directly into a regulatory framework that has not been substantially updated since 1977.
The 421-page proposal would modernize terminology “in light of technological advancements” and update rules governing the use of electronic systems, the SEC said in an accompanying fact sheet. Transfer agents are the recordkeepers of US securities markets. They maintain ownership records and handle corporate actions such as mergers and dividend distributions.
The rule change is the first significant amendment since 1977. It names blockchain, distributed ledger technology, and smart contracts explicitly. Transfer agents interacting with tokenized securities “must increasingly manage risks relating to blockchain data integrity, security of tokenized securities, and distributed ledger operational models,” the SEC wrote. Firms adopting AI or automated systems, the proposal adds, must ensure proper controls and accurate representations of their capabilities.
The practical upshot: any firm acting as a transfer agent for a tokenized security would face explicit SEC expectations around ledger integrity and smart-contract oversight. Those are obligations the 1977 framework never contemplated.
Comments are due 60 days after the proposal’s publication in the Federal Register, Cointelegraph reported. Separately, the SEC set the agenda for a roundtable on round-the-clock US equities trading, titled “24-Hour Markets: Around-the-Clock U.S. Equities Trading,” scheduled for Sept. 25, 2026. Experts from exchanges, broker-dealers, clearing agencies, and investors will participate.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins framed the proposal as a deliberate move toward a framework built for modern infrastructure. “This proposal would streamline and modernize the Commission’s rules to reflect transfer agents’ current processes and operations, including the use of electronic communications and blockchain technology in connection with securities offerings and the transfer of shares,” Atkins said in a statement, The Block reported.
Atkins added that the proposal “reflects the Commission’s commitment to establishing a clear, balanced regulatory framework that embraces innovation and new technologies while maintaining critical investor protections,” per Cointelegraph.
Commissioner Hester Peirce voiced support but signaled her departure. “I am pleased to support it and, although I will not be here to assist, I will be cheering the Commission from the outside as it finalizes the rule,” Peirce said. She indicated she would remain at the agency for “the next several weeks.”
The proposal lands as crypto-adjacent firms increasingly register as SEC transfer agents. Injective recently became one. It joins Securitize and tZERO, both already registered. The trend signals that tokenized-securities infrastructure is moving onto regulated rails rather than running parallel to them.
Open questions remain. Whether the final rule preserves the proposal’s blockchain-specific language intact is not yet clear. The 60-day comment window could produce material pushback from incumbent transfer agents that do not handle tokenized assets. The Sept. 25 roundtable, meanwhile, is an agenda-setting exercise rather than a rulemaking. The SEC has not proposed any trading-hours rule, only convened stakeholders to discuss one.
