Covered Firm Compliance Steps Position Imperium for Potential Expansion Under SEC Exemption
Wayne, Pennsylvania--(Newsfile Corp. - September 28, 2026) - BTCS Inc. (NASDAQ: BTCS) ("BTCS" or the "Company"), short for Blockchain Technology Consensus Solutions, a company focused on decentralized finance and blockchain infrastructure operations, today announced that Imperium, the Company's decentralized finance ("DeFi") business line, has completed the preparatory compliance steps for potential reliance on the Securities and Exchange Commission's ("SEC") Covered Firm exemption for tokenized-equity liquidity provisioning. These steps include submitting the required SEC notice and publishing the applicable website disclosures. Imperium has not yet commenced tokenized-equity liquidity provisioning.
"With the SEC's conditional exemptive relief now in place as an interim step, we can evaluate expanding Imperium into additional on-chain activities that build on our blockchain infrastructure and DeFi experience," said Charles Allen, CEO of BTCS. "Completing these preparations positions us to pursue tokenized-equity liquidity opportunities as the market develops. More broadly, we believe blockchain technology can fundamentally change how securities are traded and settled, moving from fixed market hours and multi-day settlement toward markets that can operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with near-instant settlement. Our focus remains on disciplined capital deployment into strategies that we believe can generate profit and create long-term shareholder value."
The SEC's September 17, 2026 order provides temporary, conditional relief from the dealer definition for qualifying liquidity providers in automated market maker pools on qualifying Tokenized Securities Venues. The Covered Firm Exemption is contingent on a qualifying Tokenized Securities Venue ("TSV") operating under the separate Tokenized Securities Venue exemption (the "TSV Exemption"), and Imperium cannot act under the Covered Firm Exemption until a qualifying TSV is operational. The exemption expires five years from its publication in the Federal Register, unless modified. The SEC has solicited public comment on the exemption, including possible modifications and next steps, and its terms may evolve. Reliance requires compliance with its conditions and does not constitute SEC approval of Imperium or its strategies.
In addition to the notice and disclosures, Imperium has completed the statutory-disqualification review covering the participant and its affiliates. Any activity under the exemption would use proprietary capital without custody of customer assets. Under the Covered Firm Exemption, a liquidity provider's permissible securities activities are limited to activities related to the trading of tokenized NMS stock in an AMM Liquidity Pool operating pursuant to the TSV Exemption. The Company would maintain records addressing liquidity, trading arrangements and compensation as required by the exemption. These requirements would continue during operations.
Completion of these preparations gives BTCS a basis to evaluate a potential extension of Imperium into tokenized equities. Any launch remains subject to qualifying venue access, operational readiness and ongoing compliance. The Company's decision to deploy capital would also depend on available assets, trading demand, expected economics and risk. This announcement does not establish a launch date or capital commitment.
Launched in 2025, Imperium actively deploys digital assets into DeFi protocols, including liquidity pools. The Covered Firm Exemption contemplates liquidity provisioning to automated market maker pools, the same on-chain mechanism Imperium was built to operate in. The infrastructure, risk controls and analytical framework the Company developed for Imperium, including its approach to evaluating liquidity, transaction activity and capital efficiency, are therefore directly applicable to tokenized equities, an additional and potentially far larger market. BTCS intends to assess opportunities as suitable venues and pools develop, with the objective of expanding Imperium's potential sources of revenue while maintaining discipline around capital allocation.
The Company views tokenized equities as a potentially significant market opportunity. Global equity market capitalization reached a record $157.8 trillion at the end of 2025, with U.S.-listed companies representing approximately 44% of that total, according to SIFMA's 2026 Capital Markets Fact Book. Citi's June 2026 report, Tokenization 2030: Wall Street On-Chain, projects that tokenized financial assets could grow from approximately $17 billion today to $5.5 trillion by 2030 in its base case, within a range of $2.7 trillion to $8.2 trillion depending on the pace of adoption, and expects that growth to be led by public market securities, particularly U.S. equities and Treasuries. Even a low single-digit percentage of the U.S. public equity market moving on-chain would represent trillions of dollars of tokenized stock requiring liquidity, and the SEC's exemptive framework is designed to allow that liquidity to be supplied through automated market maker pools. These estimates were prepared by third parties, not by BTCS, and there can be no assurance that tokenized-equity markets will develop as projected or that the Company will capture any portion of this opportunity.
"BTCS has been building toward this moment for years," Allen continued. "In 2023 we became one of the first public companies to tokenize an equity security when we distributed our Series V preferred stock to shareholders and listed it on Upstream, an Ethereum-powered trading venue. We were too early. With clearer guidelines now coming from the SEC, the market appears ready to bring real-world assets on-chain at scale, and the time we have spent building Imperium to operate in on-chain liquidity pools ports directly to tokenized equities. We are thrilled to be among the first public companies preparing to participate."
About BTCS:
BTCS Inc. ("BTCS" or the "Company"), short for Blockchain Technology Consensus Solutions, is a U.S.-based Ethereum-first blockchain technology company committed to driving scalable revenue and asset accumulation through its hallmark strategy, the DeFi/TradFi Accretion Flywheel, an integrated approach to capital formation and blockchain infrastructure. By combining decentralized finance ("DeFi") and traditional finance ("TradFi") mechanisms with its blockchain infrastructure operations, comprising NodeOps (staking), Builder+ (block building), and Imperium (DeFi deployments), BTCS offers a unique opportunity for blockchain exposure, driven by recurring on-chain revenue generation and an Ethereum-focused strategy. Discover how BTCS offers exposure to Ethereum and its on-chain economy through the public markets at www.btcs.com.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding potential expansion of Imperium into tokenized-equity liquidity provisioning, reliance on the SEC Covered Firm exemption, the availability of qualifying venues and liquidity pools, the timing and extent of any launch or capital deployment, potential revenue and profitability, shareholder value, business strategy, the potential size, growth and structure of tokenized securities and equity markets, including third-party estimates and projections cited in this release, the anticipated benefits of blockchain-based trading and settlement, the applicability of Imperium's experience and infrastructure to tokenized equities, the Company's ability to be an early mover, and developments in digital asset and tokenized securities markets. Words such as "may," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "predict," "intend," "target," "seek," "positioned" or similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties, including volatility in digital asset markets, including the market price of ETH and other digital assets, and concentration risk from the Company's Ethereum-first strategy; regulatory developments affecting digital assets and blockchain technology, including eligibility for and continued compliance with the Covered Firm exemption, its interpretation, modification or expiration, and regulation of tokenized securities, DeFi protocols and Layer-2 networks; availability and continued qualification of Tokenized Securities Venues and eligible assets, venue access, trading demand and competition in DeFi and tokenized securities markets; operational risks associated with Imperium, including smart contract vulnerabilities, DeFi protocol failures, counterparty risks, impermanent loss and liquidity risks associated with DeFi lending, borrowing, and liquidity provision activities, and the Company's reliance on third-party protocols and venues, tokenization arrangements, and settlement systems; risks related to the Company's use of leverage and collateralization requirements; the risk that tokenized-equity activities may not commence or generate anticipated revenue, profit or shareholder value; the risk that tokenized securities markets develop more slowly, on a smaller scale or in a different form than third-party projections suggest, and that competitors with greater resources capture the opportunity; technological implementation challenges, cybersecurity risks, and potential loss or theft of digital assets; risks related to the Ethereum network and Layer-2 networks such as Base, including fluctuations in transaction volumes and blockspace demand, and changes in network protocols, consensus mechanisms, or gas fee structures; risks that the Company's expansion strategies may not produce the anticipated benefits; general economic and market conditions; and other risks set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.
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Investor Relations:
Charles Allen - CEO
X: @Charles_BTCS
Email: ir@btcs.com
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