SEC Chair: Will Draft Rule Proposals Related to Cryptocurrency, No Longer Fear Innovation in Cryptocurrency Space

BlockBeats News, May 19, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated at an SEC speech that "the crypto market has been in the SEC's regulatory gray area for years. Initially, the SEC took what I call an 'ostrich policy' attitude—perhaps hoping the crypto industry would disappear on its own. Later, the policy shifted to an enforcement-style regulation of 'shoot first, ask questions later.' The so-called slogan 'come chat with us' often actually meant 'welcome to receive a subpoena.' For market participants, this is simply a dilemma. This environment cannot build trust. The underlying signal being sent is: 'Figure it out for yourself.'

Recently, I have directed the Division of Corporation Finance to maintain transparent communication with the public. When regulators can have open dialogues with the industry, market participants can act more flexibly and allocate capital more effectively to productive uses. Today is a new starting point for the SEC. I have instructed the staff of the policy division to begin drafting rule proposals related to cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, the staff is still 'clearing hurdles' through departmental-level statements.

I hope the Commission will allow SEC-registered entities to custody and trade both securities and non-securities assets on a single platform. This will help reduce investor costs and enable non-securities transactions to quickly enter the federal regulatory environment. In response to the innovation trend and the progress of the crypto working group, we have applied to Congress for reallocation of budget to integrate the SEC's 'Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub)' function into other parts of the agency."