What status for NFT? The SEC commissioner, Hester Peirce, recently clarified the agency’s position on the NFT, declaring that the latter, even with creators’ fees, were not considered financial securities. This declaration comes as the Opensea platform asked the dry last month to recognize that NFT market places were not scholarships within the meaning of the federal laws on securities. Regulation continues to advance with great strides in the United States.
- The SEC commissioner, Hester Peirce, clarified that the NFT, even with royalties for the creators, were not considered as financial titles.
- OPENSEA, the main NFT market platform, therefore asked the SEC to recognize that these marketplaces are not scholarships according to federal securities.
NFTs are not financial titles according to the dry
Hester Peirce therefore explained that the NFT which allow artists to perceive royalties On the residents were not qualified as financial securities. Unlike actions, NFTs are programmable assets that distribute income To developers or artists, a bit like streaming platforms pay musicians and filmmakers:
« Just as streaming platforms pay royalties to the creator of a song or video each time a user cheek, an NFT can allow artists to benefit from the appreciation of the value of their work after its initial sale »
Hester Peirce, commissioner within the dry – Source: dry document
Oscar Franklin Tan, legal director ofAtlas Development Serviceshowever, stressed that Ms. Peirce’s comments had been widely misunderstood. He therefore clarified that the Nft which paid royalties to artists were not considered as Financial titlesa view which is legally correct, but which has been misinterpreted by certain media:
« The SEC has never prohibited contracts where artists and creators receive royalties on secondary sales of their work, any more than royalties from paper contracts or blockchain protocols »
Oscar Franklin Tan, Legal Director of Atlas Development Services – Source: Cointelegraph
For him, it is important to remember that the regulation on investment has nothing to do with the one on the property rightnor that concerning the Artist remuneration.
Opensea requires essential clarification
OPENSEAthe largest marketpot in the sector, has recently asked the DRY to clarify your position on Nft. In a letter Addressed to Hester Peirce, Opensea lawyers argued that NFT market places should be excluded from the surveillance of exchanges, within the meaning of federal securities.
This letter follows the conclusion of the SEC investigation on Opensea, which was considered a victory for industry. Lawyers ofOPENSEA argued that the marketplaces From these non -fungible tokens did not execute transactions, but only agreed as intermediaries. So they urged the DRY to clearly declare that nft marketplaces like Opensea were not exchange scholarships.
Ms. Peirce’s declaration and Opensea’s request mark an important step in regulating NFT. While the SEC continues to explore the legal status of digital assets, the actors of the industry hope for a clarification which will allow Stimulate innovation while protecting investors.