Former SEC Official John Reed Stark Opposes Regulatory Reform at Crypto Roundtable

BlockBeats News, March 22nd: At the first cryptocurrency industry roundtable hosted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), former SEC Cyber Enforcement Chief John Reed Stark strongly opposed modifying existing securities regulations for digital assets. He stated that the Securities Acts of 1933 and 1934 do not need to make concessions for cryptocurrency, and digital assets should continue to be seen as securities.

“People buying cryptocurrency are not collectors, they are investors. The SEC's duty is to protect investors,” Stark said. He pointed out that crypto companies have hired top global law firms to try to delay enforcement actions, but have almost universally lost in all cases. Stark also claimed that compared to past technological revolutions like the iPhone, he has not seen any real innovation in digital assets. Stark has long been a staunch critic of the crypto industry, describing the partnership between the NBA team Dallas Mavericks and the crypto company Voyager as “collaborating with a heroin manufacturer.” He supports former SEC Chair Gensler's “enforcement-first approach” and insists that the crypto industry must comply with existing laws rather than ask for laws to accommodate it.