SEC proposes blockchain stock records; CFTC fines trader $90,000

The SEC proposed new transfer-agent rules on Tuesday. The proposal could make a blockchain the official record of who owns a share. Transfer agents maintain an issuer's master securityholder file, which is the legal list of share owners. Transfer agents also route dividends. Transfer agents process transfers. The package would amend existing rules and forms. The package would rescind one rule. The package would add several new rules. Commissioner Hester Peirce said the proposal took more than a decade. Chairman Paul Atkins said the proposal would modernize rules to reflect transfer agents' current processes and operations. Atkins included electronic communications and blockchain technology connected to securities offerings and share transfers. Registrars would disclose which securities they tokenize and which networks host them. The CFTC settled with John Patrick Gorman III, a US dollar swaps trader and managing director at a global investment bank. A federal court in Manhattan entered a consent order against Gorman. Enforcement staff told Gorman in March 2019 to preserve documents. Gorman deleted WhatsApp threads and one text message. Two months later, Gorman wrote to the agency claiming he had destroyed nothing. Gorman repeated that account in testimony in November 2019. The order fines Gorman $90,000. The order permanently bars Gorman from repeating the conduct. The CFTC said attempts to impede or obstruct its investigations affect its ability to detect wrongdoing and enforce the law.