BTCS says Imperium completed SEC exemption prep for tokenized stock liquidity plans

Nasdaq-listed BTCS said its DeFi unit, Imperium, has completed the preparatory compliance steps required for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s "Covered Firm" exemption, including filing a notice with regulators and publishing related disclosures. The company said it intends to use that exemption to act as an automated market maker on qualifying tokenized securities venues and provide liquidity for tokenized stocks. BTCS also drew a clear line around what the exemption does not mean. The company said the exemption is not an SEC approval and does not grant broker-dealer status. Imperium has not yet started offering tokenized stock liquidity, because the exemption only becomes effective once a qualifying tokenized securities trading venue is operating. The company added that Imperium has already deployed crypto assets in DeFi protocols. BTCS said the move is part of its preparation for a future blockchain-based market for tokenized securities, positioning it among the first publicly traded crypto companies to openly prepare for that framework.