The ad, however, blurs some important distinctions. It warns broadly about “unregulated venues” even as the SEC’s exemption creates a pathway for certain tokenized stock trading under regulatory conditions. It also groups risks associated with synthetic stock trackers together with concerns about blockchain-based versions of actual securities.
Companies can also only opt out of having a third-party tokenized securities venue create digital asset versions of their securities if that third party sends them a notice stating its intent to tokenize a company’s securities.
Dave Hendricks, the CEO of Vertalo, told CoinDesk in an email that the venue has to send a notice, with contact info, and the 30-day period begins after that notice is delivered. A tokenized securities venue that says on its website that it is tokenizing another company’s securities is really saying it told that company in writing that it intended to do so.
Who is behind the campaign?
The advertisement was paid for by Common Sense Leadership Fund, an Arlington, Virginia-based conservative-leaning nonprofit organized as a 501(c)(4) — meaning it is a tax-exempt group focused on social welfare. Who ultimately financed the campaign remains unclear. No one picked up when CoinDesk called a phone number associated with the group.
Galaxy’s head of research, Alex Thorn, noted Wednesday on X that the group had previously listed the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) as a client. SIFMA represents securities firms and asset managers.