On Tuesday, February 6, 2024, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission promulgated final rules relating to changing the definition of dealer pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. See SEC.gov | SEC Adopts Rules to Include Certain Significant Market Participants as “Dealers” or “Government Securities Dealers”. This definitional change is a watershed moment in securities regulation.

Although the SEC has for several years now sought to expand the definition of dealer in certain markets, most notably the convertible debt market, this is the first time the SEC has taken advantage of its rule- making ability to dramatically shift decades of precedent.

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