According to CoinDesk, tZERO, a fintech company supported by US online retailer Overstock, announced on Tuesday that it has received approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to become the second Special Purpose Broker Dealer (SPBD) in the US to engage in digital asset securities custody business, following the path previously pioneered by Prometheum.

As a special purpose broker dealer under SEC regulation, it will be allowed to safeguard clients' digital asset securities, however, this ability is facing widespread legal disputes between the cryptocurrency industry and the SEC. The SEC considers most cryptocurrency tokens to be securities, and in order to custody cryptocurrency securities, tZERO and Prometheum must treat tokens as securities, while the industry (including many issuers) opposes this label.

David Goone, CEO of tZERO, stated in a press release, "Our special purpose broker dealer status will enable us to provide safe, reliable, and regulated broker digital asset custody and other innovative products for issuers, investors, and other market participants

This company, supported by Overstock and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, has announced that it will begin offering services for assets including private securities, securitized real estate, art, and sports assets as early as early next year, and will begin with the full digitization of tZERO's Series A Special Equity Securities (TZROP).