Here’s what you’ll find in today’s edition:

• What executives wished for at the SEC’s second crypto roundtable.

• Keeping up with the ever-changing tariff developments.

• Data and commentary to watch for this week.

Takeaways from SEC roundtable No. 2  

The SEC has done a lot between Gary Gensler’s January departure and Paul Atkins’ confirmation last week. 

Some of the most recent actions are statements on crypto-related disclosures from the agency’s Division of Corporation Finance. And the SEC again asked the court to pause its litigation with Binance.

But the SEC’s most meaningful move in recent months? The agency’s swift creation of a crypto task force and corresponding roundtable meetings, according to StoneTurn partner Kyla Curley. 

The roundtables are especially crucial given they “extend well beyond the perspectives and objectives of the regulators and lawmakers by including stakeholders in all aspects of the industry,” Curley told me.

The SEC’s second crypto roundtable, hosted last Friday, focused on tailoring regulation for crypto trading. The panelists came from a range of employers, including centralized giant Coinbase and decentralized player Uniswap Labs. Speakers also included legal experts and a leader from the New York Stock Exchange. 

SEC Acting Chair Mark Uyeda acknowledged (in a pre-recorded virtual appearance) some challenges. For example: While national securities exchanges can only list registered securities, most tokenized securities in the market today are unregistered. 

Compliance with the “order protection rule” may not be possible for various tokenized or non-tokenized securities trading in on- and off-chain markets, he added. There’s also the fact that crypto trading platforms (unlike securities exchanges) might handle custody, execution and clearing.

At one point, the panelists were asked about their main wishes in regards to upcoming SEC actions. 

NYSE chief product officer Jon Herrick had a general ask: “precision” on the problems to solve (rather than starting with a solution and then searching for issues it can clear up). 

Texture Capital CEO Richard Johnson said the goal should be getting to a point where we use blockchain as the official record of ownership for securities; we use smart contracts for settlement; and we use stablecoins/tokenized Treasurys for the cash leg of securities transactions. 

Coinbase’s Gregory Tusar got a bit more specific, asking for a “holistic and integrated” market structure that allows securities and commodities to trade side by side. 

“When we have the conversation about securities and commodities, it sort of leads us to believe that there are these very clear swim lanes,” he said. “But in actual fact it’s nowhere near going to be that clean and precise.”

Some panelists went a step further, with Johnson and Urvin Finance co-founder Dave Lauer saying the SEC and CFTC should merge. 

Austin Reid, FalconX’s head of revenue and business, noted that regulatory consolidation would unlock innovation and allow US firms to better compete globally. He noted that firms like FalconX and Coinbase, for example, could find themselves working with more than 50 regulators (the SEC, CFTC, US states and agencies in other regions).    

Uniswap Labs chief legal officer Katherine Minarik also urged the commission to not deliberately (or accidentally) hinder the future potential of DeFi tech by requiring it to act like centralized finance.

Her wish was thus: “For the SEC to be a champion for the importance of peer-to-peer transactions, self-custody technology and the value of the privacy and safety to everyday people that can come from that type of technology.”

Chelsea Pizzola, associate general counsel at Cumberland DRW, said that while many in the industry are optimistic for crypto legislation, the SEC shouldn’t wait for that to offer more guidance and/or rulemaking. She’d love to see the commission clarify instances in which secondary market transactions would or wouldn’t fall within their jurisdiction, for example.

Pizzola’s first point echoed Uyeda’s earlier comment that “a time-limited, conditional exemptive relief framework for registrants and non-registrants” could boost US blockchain tech innovation while the SEC develops a long-term solution.

Next up is an April 25 roundtable on crypto custody considerations. Here’s to the ongoing back and forth.

— Ben Strack

No Tariffs on Builders

The Fed won’t refactor your contracts. Rates won’t fix UX. Policy won’t push code to prod.

Builders. Founders. Devs. Not waiting for the cycle — writing the next one.

• $100K+ in hackathon bounties

• Developer tickets available

• Speaker lineup live

📅 June 22–26 | Brooklyn, NY

The management fee (in 2025) on Evolve’s spot solana ETF that is expected to start trading Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.  

This comes as Bloomberg Intelligence Eric Balchunas said on X that the Ontario Securities Commission has also cleared similar products by Purpose, CI and 3iQ. These milestone offerings are set to engage in staking activities.

The SEC is reviewing similar ETFs in the US, but has not yet given them the green light. 

If you logged off on Friday at the close and didn’t check futures prices or the news until this morning (unlikely, I know, but maybe you spent the weekend at the Masters), you have some catching up to do. 

To recap: The US Customs and Border Protection late Friday night issued guidance exempting certain consumer electronics (smartphones, computers, etc.) from both reciprocal tariffs on China and the 10% global tariff on all imports. Machines used to assemble semiconductors are also exempt, the guidance noted. 

On Saturday afternoon, though, White House senior adviser Stephen Miller said these products, when imported from China, are still subject to a 20% levy. 

Trump doubled down (sort of) on Sunday, writing in a Truth Social post that “there was no tariff ‘exemption’ announced on Friday.” Semiconductor tariffs will be moved to a different “bucket,” he said, adding that he would clarify everything on Monday. 

When asked about it this morning, Trump told reporters this: "Look, I'm a very flexible person. I don't change my mind, but I'm flexible, and you have to be.” 

He added that “there’ll be many things coming up” and he  “[doesn’t] want to hurt anybody.” 

We try to write this newsletter as close to “send time” as possible, but this administration loves to keep everyone on their toes. With that in mind, as of time of writing, Trump didn’t provide any specifics on tariffs on electronics. 

We’ll be watching for updates, but buckle up in the meantime. It’s looking to be another unpredictable week.

— Casey Wagner

With all the tariff news-fueled moves in stock and Treasury futures over the weekend, it feels like we should be further into the week. But alas, it’s only Monday. 

We have a slower week ahead in terms of economic data. But fear not, as we’re confident the escalating global trade war will give markets plenty to trade on. Here’s what’s on tap: 

• We’ll get a lot of Fed speak, which hopefully will provide some clarity into how central bankers are thinking about tariffs. Fed Gov. Chris Waller this afternoon said that the inflationary impact of tariffs could be “temporary.” He’s said that before, but did add that should the economy slow too much, he expects the FOMC will cut “sooner.” Chair Powell is scheduled to speak Wednesday, followed by Governor Michael Barr on Thursday. 

• US retail sales for March will be released Wednesday. Analysts are expecting a 1.2% increase — a significant jump from February, when sales were up just 0.2% month over month. Auto sales are projected to come in especially high as consumers likely moved to buy last month before tariffs hit. 

• Amid the broader chaos, the labor market has proven to be a bit of a bright light (at least for now). Initial jobless claims for the week ended April 12 are expected to come in just slightly higher from the week prior at 225,000. Federal layoffs have not yet impacted employment figures too much, though, so there could be volatility ahead.

— Casey Wagner

• A division of the US Department of Homeland Security is reportedly investigating crypto-focused bank Anchorage Digital, sources tell Barron’s. An Anchorage spokesperson did not immediately return Blockworks’ request for comment.   

• Crypto investment products endured $795 million of net outflows last week, CoinShares data shows.

• Bitcoin hovered around $85,000 at 2:30 pm ET Monday — up roughly 1.5% from 24 hours prior.