SEC Chair Paul Atkins has shown a change in the agency’s approach to cryptocurrency regulation. During his opening remarks at the third roundtable of the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, he stated that “innovation has been stifled for the last several years due to market and regulatory uncertainty that, unfortunately, the SEC has fostered.”
Paul Atkins shares his vision for crypto regulation
Speaking just four days into his tenure as SEC Chair at his first ever SEC crypto roundtable, Atkins expressed eagerness to tackle “long festering issues such as the regulatory treatment of digital assets and distributed ledger technologies” in collaboration with fellow commissioners, staff, and through external input from industry participants. The roundtable specifically addressed challenges that SEC registrants face when attempting to custody crypto assets for customers in compliance with federal securities laws.
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Opening remarks and first public address by the new SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins at the Crypto Task Force Roundtable – Know Your Custodian: Key Considerations for Crypto Custody.
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In his address, Chairman Atkins shared a vision for establishing what he termed a “rational fit-for-purpose framework for crypto assets.” This approach is a major change from the SEC’s previous regulatory stance under former leadership.
Atkins specifically praised Commissioner Hester Peirce, widely known as “crypto mom,” for her “principled and tireless advocacy for common sense crypto policy within the United States.” He stated that Peirce is “certainly the right person to lead the effort to come up with a rational regulatory framework for crypto assets in their markets.”
The Chairman expressed optimism about blockchain technology’s potential benefits. He stated, “I expect huge benefits from this market innovation in terms of efficiency, cost reduction, transparency, and risk mitigation.”
Atkins also inquired about whether the current “special-purpose broker-dealer” model benefits market participants or whether it needs a new model for crypto asset broker-dealers. According to him, the market itself seems to suggest that the current structure adversely requires attention. He alludes to the possibility that the SEC under his tenure could have collaborated more with the crypto sector. His statement comes four days after he was sworn in as SEC chair.
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