NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Securities and Exchange Commission is poised to propose a “crypto regulation” that will flesh out its approach to overseeing the crypto industry and draw lines between transactions that could be securities and those that are not, the agency’s head said Monday.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said the commission’s new crypto filing is in front of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, meaning it is one step away from being released. This rulemaking focuses on the Securities Act of 1933 and will address fundraising and startup exemptions, among other issues, he said Monday at an event hosted by Vanderbilt University and the Blockchain Association.
He told CoinDesk after his Q&A session that the SEC also intends to release its long-awaited innovation exemption soon.
“We’d love to get reactions and everything else,” he said. “It’s not a rule as such, but obviously we need to know how it works and whether people are having problems or not.”
One aspect of this exemption, he said, is that it would not harm incumbents and would focus solely on startups.
“We want people to really experience inside [that] Marco,” he said.
Mid-term surveillance
At multiple points during his speech, Atkins highlighted the role of Congress and said his agency’s rulemaking process was underway despite what Congress might do.
“I think we have enough runway now, even despite what may happen in the midterm elections (although I obviously still want a friendly Congress), they may throw tacks in the road in front of our tires, but they’re not going to really slow us down.”
Atkins also said the audience needed to “get involved in this upcoming election,” pointing to Sen. Bernie Moreno as an example.
“Congress really going off track is not going to benefit any of us, and it’s going to raise a lot more questions in the future because people are just going to say ‘oh gosh, maybe this is a passing phase again,'” he said. “We have to make sure your friends are in Congress. I think you saw how that really paid dividends in the last election.”
