Trading Digital Assets on an ATS: The Path to Rebuilding the Industry

Aaron Kaplan founded Prometheum to create a trading venue for digital assets that is compliant with federal securities laws. However, Kaplan's firm came under fire following the SEC's approval of Prometheum's special purpose broker-dealer license back in May of this year — the only such license issued by the SEC to date.

In this episode, Kaplan lays out how Prometheum managed to secure the special purpose broker-dealer license and why he believes strict adherence to the federal securities laws is the key to increased institutional participation in the digital asset industry.

While companies like Coinbase claim regulatory ambiguities exist surrounding digital assets, Kaplan firmly believes that existing federal securities laws can be applied to digital assets without alterations.

As Kaplan explains, "Our approval shows that if you put your head down, you work hard, you focus on how the regulators have laid out the rules and regulations, that you can be compliant."