SEC approves Paxos as first blockchain-native clearing…

The SEC has granted Paxos approval to operate as the first blockchain-native clearing agency in the United States, marking a landmark moment in the convergence of crypto infrastructure and traditional financial markets. Clearing agencies sit at the heart of securities settlement — they guarantee trades complete even when a counterparty defaults — and Paxos is now the first entity to perform that function on a public blockchain rail.

The approval signals a meaningful shift in how US regulators view distributed ledger technology as a credible backbone for systemically important financial infrastructure. For years, the SEC's posture toward crypto was largely adversarial; a formal clearing agency designation flips that framing entirely.