"3 Major Exemption Conditions" Revealed! U.S. SEC Statement: Crypto Wallets and Trading Interfaces Can Be Exempt from Broker Registration

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a statement on Monday indicating that, under certain conditions, “user interfaces (UI)” that allow users to operate crypto wallets and conduct transactions may be exempt from registration as “broker-dealers.”
The Division of Trading and Markets of the U.S. SEC released a staff statement on Monday clarifying the use of user interfaces related to crypto assets. However, the agency also emphasized that this document is not an official rule or a legally binding regulatory guideline. The SEC stated:

This statement aims to clarify how federal securities laws apply to activities involving “crypto asset securities.” During the ongoing review and compilation of feedback on various regulatory issues related to crypto asset securities, the staff’s opinions will serve as interim policy perspectives.

The SEC pointed out that these “user interfaces (UI)” include websites, software applications, or browser extensions, which are often built into crypto wallets or provided for users to download, to assist users in “using self-custody wallets” to conduct “user-initiated crypto asset securities transactions” on blockchain protocols.
The SEC stated that the conditions for exempting crypto wallet interfaces from registration include: not soliciting investors; not using sales tactics such as “best price” to influence user trading decisions and execution paths; and establishing comprehensive internal policies and procedures to objectively and systematically analyze the status of various trading platforms.
In other words, once the interface crosses the line from merely providing software services to offering financing, giving investment advice, practically handling user assets, or actively accepting orders or executing trades, it will immediately lose its exemption status and fall back under SEC jurisdiction.