tZERO gains approval for digital asset securities custody

tZERO Group Inc. has received approval from U.S. regulators to operate as a special purpose broker-dealer for digital asset securities custody, making it the second firm to obtain this license. The approval came from both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the company announced. tZERO's executive vice president, Alan Konevsky, said the firm is at the forefront of regulatory innovation and aims to demonstrate how regulatory clarity can foster real-world innovation in digital assets. This approval follows similar recognition given to Prometheum, another digital asset firm, which received the same license from the SEC and FINRA in 2022, The Block has reported. The announcement comes amid ongoing tension between the SEC and the crypto industry, with the agency taking legal action against major exchanges like Coinbase and Binance for operating without proper registration.