Valerie A. Szczepanik, Senior Advisor for Digital Assets and Innovation at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is confident that very soon the crypto market will overcome the winter that began during 2018.
Speaking at the SXSW in Austin, Texas, Ms. Szczepanik commented that over time, the SEC is becoming clearer about the nature of cryptocurrencies and the type of treatment they should give to all the different kind of digital assets. This clarity in the criteria of the regulatory agencies will directly result in a boost to the crypto markets by increasing the safety and confidence of users:
I do think if we hope to smell the crypto spring in the air, it will take people walking with the regulators … But I do think the spring is going to come.
SEC is Working Hard (But Slowly)
Over the preceding months, administrative changes within the SEC show to be yielding positive results. The new commissioners have a more proactive stance and suggest to be aligned with the vision of other senior U.S. government officials who see cryptocurrencies as an opportunity to boost the country’s economic and commercial system.
However, she is aware that the work is gradual and that it will probably be difficult for the regulatory bodies to keep pace with the various technological initiatives that are flourishing today thanks to the blockchain hype. She explained that a slow but successful work is better than a fast but deficient one:
I think if you were to propose a new regime of regulations in a precipitous way without really studying it, you might end up steering the technology one way or another.
For the community of cryptocurrency users, the SEC plays a particularly relevant role in two scenarios that have sparked high expectations for users and investors:
- Determine whether or not a particular token or ICO is a security by nature. This has taken on particular relevance in well-known cases such as Ethereum and XRP.
- Determine if there are appropriate conditions to approve a crypto ETF. This is especially important for the Bitcoin community (BTC) as to date all attempts have been unsuccessful.
