NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday that the agency is close to proposing a “cryptocurrency regulation” to flesh out its approach to regulating the cryptocurrency industry and draw a clear line between transactions that may be securities and those that are not.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins said the commission’s new regulation of cryptocurrencies has been submitted to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, meaning it is one step away from release. The rulemaking focuses on the Securities Act of 1933 and will address issues such as fundraising and startup exemptions, he said Monday at an event hosted by Vanderbilt University and the Blockchain Association.
He told CoinDesk after the Q&A session that the SEC also intends to launch the long-awaited innovation exemption soon.
“We want reactions and everything else,” he said. “It’s not a rule, but obviously we need to know how it works and if people have issues.”
He said one aspect of the exemption is that it does not disadvantage existing businesses and only focuses on start-ups.
“We want people to actually experiment [that] framework,” he said.
Midterm exam observation
Atkins mentioned Congress’s role several times during his speech, saying his agency’s rulemaking process was well underway regardless of congressional action.
“I think we have enough runway now that even if what might happen with the midterm elections — although I obviously still hope for a friendly Congress — they can throw tacks in the road in front of our tires, but they’re not going to really slow us down.”
Atkins also said viewers need to “engage in the upcoming election,” citing Sen. Bernie Moreno as an example.
“Having Congress really derailed doesn’t do any of us any good and creates more problems down the road because people are just going to be like, ‘Oh my gosh, maybe this is another passing phase,'” he said. “We have to make sure you have your friends in Congress. I think you saw the real benefit of that in the last election.”
