The SEC announced the agenda and panelists for a September 17 roundtable focused on preparations to facilitate 24-hour securities trading. The roundtable will bring together industry participants, academics, and regulators to discuss challenges to extend trading hours beyond the current model. The agenda includes three panels covering market resiliency, preparedness, and expected impacts.
On September 1, the SEC issued a proposed rule to comprehensively update the regulatory framework governing registered transfer agents. The proposal would incorporate changes to transfer agents stemming from the use of electronic communications, blockchain technology, and electronic recordkeeping. The proposed updates also include amendments to registration and annual reporting requirements; new requirements relating to risk management and inactive securityholders; and new rules addressing compliance and restrictive legends for registered transfer agents. Comments on the proposal are due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
The CFTC ordered Gabriel Perez to pay $172,000 for insider trading involving presidential mention market contracts on prediction markets. Mention market trades are event contracts based on specific words mentioned by public figures like President Trump. As a teleprompter operator at the White House, Perez had insider knowledge of these trades and profited over $107,000. Perez was ordered to disgorge these profits and pay a $65,000 penalty. In its release, the CFTC stated a “substantial discount” was offered due to Perez’s “exemplary cooperation with the CFTC.”
In the latest action in prediction market regulation debates, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that states can regulate prediction market platforms under gambling laws, even where the CFTC has authorized the trading of event contracts at the federal level. This decision creates a court split with the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which ruled in early April that prediction markets are regulated by the CFTC. The case is expected to go to the Supreme Court.
The G20 Chair’s Statement, released in conjunction with the latest meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors, includes notable references to digital assets and their role in the evolving global financial landscape. The Statement finds that digital assets contribute to economic growth and pledges to continue “advancing responsible and effective regulatory and supervisory frameworks that preserve financial stability, support economic growth, and establish clear pathways for sound digital financial and digital assets innovation, while considering cross-border opportunities and challenges as appropriate.”