US Crypto Policy Tracker: Industry Groups

On January 26, 2023, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) published version 1.0 of the long-awaited ISDA Digital Asset Derivatives Definitions (the Definitions), intended to create “an unambiguous contractual framework for digital asset derivatives under the umbrella of the ISDA Master Agreement.” ISDA also published the first of two whitepapers exploring the legal questions that emerged from the recent tumult in the crypto space. The first whitepaper, Navigating Bankruptcy in Digital Asset Markets: Netting and Collateral Enforceability, explores the legal and property characterization issues that exist for digital assets. It also confirms that ISDA will begin work in 2023 to update netting opinions in the relevant jurisdictions to cover digital assets. The second paper will focus on issues related to customer assets held with intermediaries and should be published later in Q1 of 2023.

Read more on Latham's Global Fintech & Digital Assets Blog.

According to a June 30, 2025, SIFMA comment letter, recent reports indicate that certain digital asset firms have submitted requests for immediate no-action or exemptive relief from requirements under the federal securities laws to allow such firms to offer investors the ability to purchase and trade tokenized equities or other digital forms of traditional securities through the firms’ platforms. According to SIFMA, “the SEC should reject such requests to make significant changes to the regulatory structure for the securities markets under the federal securities laws through immediate no-action or exemptive relief in lieu of a more substantive notice and comment process.”

On May 12, 2025, SIFMA and SIFMA Asset Management Group (SIFMA AMG) published a letter in response to the SEC Crypto Task Force’s request for information from stakeholders on activity involving digital assets. According to the release, SIFMA and SIFMA AMG welcome the SEC’s efforts to engage with all market participants interested in the ongoing development of these technologies, as well as its creation of the Crypto Task Force, and expressed their agreement with the SEC’s and the Task Force’s goal of providing greater clarity to market participants engaged in digital assets activities through frameworks that balance responsible innovation and protecting investors. SIFMA and SIFMA AMG emphasized the importance of four general principles:

1. Extending existing robust investor protections to digital assets market participants

2. The need for the SEC to apply existing and well-understood securities regulatory principles to digital assets rather than creating a distinct architecture for this class of assets and transactions

3. The value of a technology-neutral approach

4. The need to ensure that digital assets and market participants are subject to regulatory outcomes that are risk appropriate and broadly equivalent to those applied to traditional assets and market participants