Paxos Becomes First Blockchain-Native Firm Authorized as U.S. Equities CSD

Paxos, a stablecoin and blockchain infrastructure firm, has made history by becoming the first blockchain-native company to be authorized as a central securities depository (CSD) for U.S. equities. This landmark registration was granted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under Section 17A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

The approval positions Paxos, through its subsidiary Paxos Securities Settlement Company (PSSC), as a direct competitor to the entrenched post-trade giant, Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). The DTCC has processed tens of trillions of dollars in securities transactions annually for decades and has operated as the de facto backbone of U.S. post-trade infrastructure.

Paxos has been working towards this milestone for seven years, with its CEO, Charles Cascarilla, describing it as 'the result of seven years of work with the SEC'. The company had previously secured a no-action letter from the SEC in 2019, which allowed it to begin developing a live settlement pilot.