Opensea要求SEC将NFT市场排除在法规之外

领先的无牙（NFT）市场Opensea已正式要求美国证券交易委员会（SEC）将NFT平台排除在法规之外

Non-fungible token (NFT) platform OpenSea has formally asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to exclude NFT platforms from regulation under federal securities laws.

Opensea（NFT）平台的无牙代币（NFT）平台已正式要求证券交易委员会（SEC）将NFT平台排除在联邦证券法律下的法规之外。

In an April 9 letter to Commissioner Hester Peirce, who leads the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, OpenSea’s legal team argued that NFT marketplaces don’t fit the definition of exchanges or brokers.

Opensea的法律团队在4月9日给领导SEC加密特遣部队的专员Hester Peirce的信中辩称，NFT市场不符合交流或经纪人的定义。

The request comes just months after the SEC dropped its investigation into OpenSea for alleged securities law violations. This decision was part of a broader policy shift under the Trump administration, which has taken a more crypto-friendly approach to regulation.

该请求是在SEC将涉嫌违反证券法的Opensea调查的几个月后。这项决定是特朗普政府领导下的更广泛政策转变的一部分，该政府采取了更加加密友好的监管方法。

OpenSea’s general counsel Adele Faure and deputy general counsel Laura Brookover stated in their letter that NFT marketplaces don’t meet the legal definition of an exchange. They argued that platforms like OpenSea don’t execute transactions, act as intermediaries, or bring together multiple sellers for the same asset.

Opensea的总法律顾问Adele Faure和副总法律顾问Laura Brookover在信中指出，NFT市场不符合交易所的法律定义。他们认为，像Opensea这样的平台不会执行交易，充当中介机构或将多个卖家汇总为同一资产。

“The Commission’s past enforcement agenda has created uncertainty. We therefore urge the Commission to remove this uncertainty and protect the ability of US technology companies to lead in this space,” the legal team wrote.

法律团队写道：“委员会过去的执法议程造成了不确定性。因此，我们敦促委员会消除这种不确定性并保护美国技术公司在这一领域领导的能力。”

Not Exchanges, Not Brokers

不交流，不是经纪人

OpenSea describes itself more as a “digital bazaar” than a trading floor. The platform allows users to discover NFTs and connect with buyers and sellers, rather than facilitating trades in the traditional sense.

Opensea将自己描述为“数字集市”，而不是交易楼。该平台允许用户发现NFT并与买卖双方联系，而不是从传统意义上促进交易。

The legal team also pushed back against the broker designation. They argued that OpenSea doesn’t provide investment advice, execute transactions, or custody customer assets.

法律团队还反对经纪人的名称。他们认为Opensea不提供投资建议，执行交易或客户资产。

“NFT marketplaces do not hold or facilitate the flow of funds or assets and thus cannot commingle them, making capital requirements and financial recordkeeping irrelevant,” Faure and Brookover explained in their letter.

Faure和Brookover在信中解释说：“ NFT市场不会持有或促进资金或资产的流动，因此无法使其融合，使资本要求和财务记录保持无关紧要。”

They further stated that OpenSea shouldn’t be regulated as a “Trading Facility” like the New York Stock Exchange because transaction execution is handled by smart contracts. The platform also doesn’t meet the Exchange Act’s “multiple sellers” requirement.

他们进一步指出，不应像纽约证券交易所那样将Opensea视为“交易设施”，因为交易执行是由智能合约处理的。该平台还不符合《交易法》的“多个卖家”要求。

Seeking Regulatory Clarity

寻求监管清晰度

The request for clarification follows recent SEC actions on other crypto assets. On April 4, the SEC published a notice stating that stablecoins meeting specific criteria are considered “non-securities” and exempt from transaction reporting requirements.

澄清的请求是在SEC对其他加密资产的最新行动之后进行的。 SEC在4月4日发布了一份通知，指出符合特定标准的Stablecoins被视为“非安全性”，并免除了交易报告要求。

In February, the SEC’s division of corporation finance also issued a statement that memecoins are not securities under federal securities laws but are more akin to collectibles.

2月，美国证券交易委员会（SEC）的公司融资部还发表了一份声明，即模因不是根据联邦证券法律的证券，而是更类似于收藏品。

OpenSea is asking for similar clarity for NFT marketplaces.

Opensea要求对NFT市场有类似的清晰度。

“In preparing this guidance, the Crypto Task Force should specifically address the application of exchange regulations to marketplaces for non-fungible assets, similar to the recent staff statements on memecoins and stablecoins,” the legal team wrote.

法律团队写道：“在准备本指南时，加密货币工作队应专门解决交换法规在不可杀死资产的市场上的应用，类似于最近关于Memecoins和Stablecoins的员工声明。”

The company wants the SEC to issue informal guidance in the short term. For the longer term, they’ve invited the Commission to exempt NFT marketplaces like OpenSea from proposed broker regulation.

该公司希望SEC在短期内颁发非正式指导。从长远来看，他们邀请委员会免除像Opensea这样的NFT市场，不得经纪经纪法规。

NFT Market Challenges

NFT市场挑战

The request comes at a challenging time for the NFT market. Despite Bitcoin’s record-breaking rally and growth in the DeFi sector, NFTs have remained in a slump over the past couple of years.

该要求在NFT市场充满挑战的时期。尽管比特币的破纪录集会和Defi行业增长，但在过去的几年中，NFT仍处于低迷状态。

In 2024, NFT trading volumes dropped by 19%, while sales counts fell by 18% compared to the previous year. This brought trading activity to its weakest levels since 2020.

在2024年，NFT交易量下降了19％，而销售量比上一年下降了18％。这使贸易活动达到了2020年以来的最弱水平。

The broader regulatory environment for crypto has been shifting under the Trump administration. President Trump directed the SEC to clarify its position on crypto and established a “Crypto Task Force” to engage with the industry in drafting guidelines.

在特朗普政府的领导下，加密货币的更广泛的监管环境一直在转移。特朗普总统指示SEC澄清其在加密货币上的立场，并建立了一个“加密特遣部队”，以与该行业合作起草指南。

This marked a departure from the approach under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who had taken a more aggressive stance toward crypto regulation. The agency had previously been criticized for “regulating by enforcement” rather than providing clear rules.

这标志着前美国证券交易委员会主席加里·贡斯勒（Gary Gensler）领导下的方法，后者对加密法规采取了更为积极的立场。该机构此前因“通过执法进行监管”而不是提供明确的规则而受到批评。

Commissioner Peirce’s crypto task force has been meeting with various industry players as part of its work to develop clearer guidelines. As the regulatory landscape continues to evolve, OpenSea’s request represents an important push for clarity in how NFT marketplaces fit into the broader crypto regulatory framework.

专员皮尔斯（Peirce）的加密特遣部队一直在与各种行业参与者会面，这是制定更清晰指导方针的工作的一部分。随着监管格局的不断发展，Opensea的要求代表了NFT市场如何适应更广泛的加密监管框架的重要促进。