“Congressman Brad Sherman asserts that the SEC has the authority to stop perpetual derivatives and crypto platforms trading digital copies of American shares, and must use it now to protect investors.” — Congressman Brad Sherman. Our verdict: Unverified.
Congressman Brad Sherman made the claim in a press release on his official House website, dated 30 October 2026, calling on the SEC to protect American investors.
Our verdict
Unverified
We could not find enough public evidence to confirm or refute this claim. Congressman Brad Sherman did make the statements, but the wider factual picture — including whether the SEC has authority over perpetual derivatives and whether such trading is harming investors — is not established by the evidence we found.
Know something that settles it? Send us evidenceWhat we found
The claim has two parts. The first is that Congressman Brad Sherman said the SEC has the authority to stop perpetual derivatives and crypto platforms trading digital copies of American shares, and must use it now. A press release from his office confirms he said this. The second part is whether the underlying facts are true. Here the evidence is thinner. The SEC has said that tokenised securities count as securities under federal law, and it has used its powers to allow certain venues to trade tokenised American shares. But we found nothing that settles whether the SEC can act against perpetual derivatives, whether platforms are actually offering these products to Americans, or whether investors have lost money. Because the core factual elements are not supported either way, our verdict is unverifiable.
The evidence
2 of 3 sources support the claim; none contradict it.
- Background
A press release from Congressman Sherman's office states that he said the SEC has the authority to stop perpetual derivatives and crypto platforms trading digital copies of American shares, and urged the SEC to use that authority immediately to protect investors. [1]
- Supports the claim
The SEC has stated that tokenised securities are securities under federal securities laws, which indicates it has authority to regulate crypto platforms trading tokenised versions of American shares. [2]
- Supports the claim
The SEC issued an exemption allowing Tokenized Securities Venues to trade tokenised American shares, using its statutory authority under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. [3]
What we could not confirm
- Whether the SEC has authority to stop perpetual derivatives under U.S. securities law.
- Whether any platforms are actually offering perpetual derivatives to people in the United States.
- Whether tokenised American shares are actively being traded to American investors.
- Whether investors have suffered losses connected to these products.
- Whether there is market manipulation or illicit money flows on these platforms.
How we checked
We looked at a press release from Congressman Sherman's office and two official SEC publications — a statement on tokenised securities and a press release about an innovation exemption. We did not carry out independent legal research or market surveillance. We reviewed 3 relevant sources.
Sources
- [1]sherman.house.gov · Congressman Brad Sherman and Lawmakers Call on SEC to Protect American Investors and the Integrity of U.S. Financial Markets
- [2]sec.gov · Statement on Tokenized Securities · January 28, 2026
- [3]sec.gov · SEC Issues “Innovation Exemption” to Facilitate the Trading of Tokenized NMS Stock and Request for Comment · September 17, 2026
Help us check this claim
We could not find enough public evidence to confirm or refute this claim. If you know of an official record, dataset, transcript or report that settles it, send us the link. We review every submission and update this fact check when the evidence changes the picture.
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