The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is having its first FinTech Forum at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., where they discussed a range of issues related to digital assets and distributed ledger technology (DLT). The speaker roster includes a dozen legal, financial and technical experts, as well as several key SEC officials.
Jay Clayton, the chairman of SEC has been slowly taking a liking to blockchain technologies. He said:
“There are many challenges in the space and the main way to tackle them is through engagement. We should also take into account what we have done earlier and compare that with what we are trying to achieve now. At the commission, what drives innovations is assessing the industry and competition.”
Clayton shows that the agency is committed to improving compliance in the space in all the country. Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission released guidance on determining whether some digital assets are investment contracts or not.
At the same panel, Clayton was accompanied by Commissioner Hester Peirce who echoed the same sentiments but was more cautious.
“We need to keep an open mind about Fintech which might mean that we need to reconsider technologically outdated assumptions that underline currency laws. Fintech can mean many things to many people and its effect on how investors communicate with each other and transmit activities are important.”
The mere fact that the SEC is engaging with the crypto industry at all is promising, the mere fact that the SEC is engaging with the crypto industry at all is promising. The SEC is opening a two-way communication flow: market participants are able to express their views, but the SEC is also able to explain why it is approaching regulation the way it is.
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