Prometheum is advancing its strategy to align with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by adding two more tokens to its cryptocurrency custody service, regardless of industry consensus. The U.S.-based firm’s custodial arm will now include tokens from Uniswap (UNI) and Arbitrum (ARB), in addition to its previous commitment to custody Ethereum’s ether (ETH), according to statements made to CoinDesk.
This move reflects Prometheum’s intention to adhere to the SEC’s view that the majority of digital assets should be classified as securities. “Prometheum Capital views the federal securities laws as the regulatory framework that provides established, tried, and tested investor protections,” said Benjamin Kaplan, CEO of Prometheum Capital, in an emailed statement. “Providing a regulated mechanism to allow investors to responsibly participate in the digital asset space has always been our goal.”
The firm is preparing to open its services to institutional clients by the end of next month, but faces a challenging landscape. Many in the industry are currently contesting the SEC’s stance in federal courts, with notable crypto firms arguing that digital assets should not be classified as securities. Bitcoin (BTC), for example, is widely recognized as a commodity and thus falls outside the SEC’s regulatory scope.
Prometheum distinguishes itself as the only company formally established as a special-purpose broker-dealer for crypto assets. It is registered to clear and settle digital asset trades, though its earlier timeline for becoming a comprehensive crypto transaction platform has proven overly ambitious. Kaplan now indicates that the full launch will occur sometime after the custodial service’s rollout.
The company’s alignment with the SEC’s perspective sets it apart from much of the sector. SEC Chair Gary Gensler has cited Prometheum as a potential model for compliant crypto operations. However, the regulator has yet to challenge Prometheum’s business model directly. The firm has conducted a “soft launch” since May, but Kaplan declined to provide specifics on revenue or further details about the launch.
Prometheum argues that its blockchain-based custody service offers greater transparency and reduces intermediary costs. Nevertheless, its decision to custody ETH has raised concerns among critics, including Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Rostin Behnam, who has warned that handling ETH could conflict with the CFTC’s classification of the token as a commodity.
The SEC has hinted that UNI might also be considered a security, potentially leading to enforcement actions. Uniswap Labs disputes these claims, asserting that the SEC’s arguments are an overreach. “The SEC’s aggressive theories are an effort to expand its jurisdiction beyond exchanges to communications technology—and beyond securities to all markets,” Uniswap Labs argued in May.
ARB, the native token of the Arbitrum network, is designed to facilitate faster and more cost-effective transactions on Ethereum. Kaplan explained that Prometheum aims to offer access to leading digital assets and a broad range of tokenized investment products in the future.
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