Cryptocurrencies should mostly be considered like securities, according to the head of the NYSE-ICE

After the unexpected failure of FTX, Jeffrey Sprecher, CEO of NYSE owner Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., predicted that current securities regulations would be applied to the vast majority of cryptocurrencies. He also suggested that established markets like the New York Stock Exchange may eventually adopt tokenized trading.

Sprecher made the remark at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. financial services conference, saying that they would be treated as securities and regulated accordingly. Because of this, he said, there will be greater openness, client money will be kept separate, the broker's position as an overseer will be clarified, and the exchanges will be entirely independent of the brokers.

He highlighted the fact that the exchanges would be independent from the settlement and clearance processes. According to Sprecher, further regulations on bitcoin trading are unnecessary. The laws, he said, "already exist," adding that he anticipated stricter enforcement.

The head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, has said his agency would play a central role in regulating cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum because he believes most crypto tokens to be securities. Gensler has recently taken a firmer position on the status of PoS cryptocurrencies as securities.

Speaking of the NYSE, ICE CEO Jeffrey Sprecher said the organization might envisage itself engaging in tokenized trading since it operates a securities exchange. He made the argument that it's not really unlike a stock, ETF, or other kind of investment.

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