United States regulators believe they have adopted a “measured yet proactive approach” to cryptocurrency regulation which aids both retail and institutional investors.
That was the formal view of Jay Clayton, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), who updated lawmakers on official policy on Dec. 10.
Speaking in testimony before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Clayton highlighted the potential of blockchain technology in helping market participants amass capital.
Clayton: SEC fosters innovation
“As I have previously stated, I am optimistic that developments in distributed ledger technology can help facilitate capital formation, providing promising investment opportunities for both institutional and Main Street investors”, he said.
Summarizing, Clayton endorsed the SEC’s general tact on disruptive financial innovation:
“Overall, I believe we have taken a measured, yet proactive regulatory approach that both fosters innovation and capital formation while protecting our investors and our markets.”
ICO legal action complicated
While Clayton has sought to take a balanced view of cryptocurrencies in particular amid intense scrutiny by Washington this year, the SEC more broadly has come under fire for its policies.
As Cointelegraph previously reported, enforcement actions against certain companies which conducted initial coin offerings (ICOs) in 2017 continue. One legal battle involving the Canadian messaging app Kik almost saw the company close down altogether in October.
In a QA session following his testimony, disruptive finance media outlet Crowdfund Insider quoted Clayton describing the enforcement situation as complicated.
On the topic of cryptocurrency, specifically Facebook’s unlaunched Libra digital currency, he reportedly added, “It’s here, we should not go around it.”
This month, meanwhile, Clayton joined various prominent regulators in penning a report for the U.S. government which touched on potential risks posed by broader adoption of stablecoins.
Bitcoin News Summary – July 29, 2019
St. Louis Federal Reserve President, James Bullard, remarked that the US is headed towards a non-uniform currency, with crypto competing with the Dollar. Bullard further said that crypto tackles an “important social problem.”
Bakkt, the forthcoming institutional crypto exchange run by Intercontinental Exchange and partnered with Microsoft and Starbucks, opened its Bitcoin futures platform to user testing this week. Bakkt has been plagued by delay imposed by regulatory compliance. It’s unknown at this point when Bakkt will officially launch.
Robinhood, a trading platform for stocks and digital assets, announced a $323 million funding. DST Global, a prominent investor in internet startups led the financing round along with crypto-notables Ribbit Capital and Sequoia. The company will direct the capital towards expanding the business and offering new financial services.
Major European budget airline, Norwegian Air, announced that Norway-based travellers can purchase tickets with Bitcoin. The airline will also launch its own crypto exchange, the Norwegian Block Exchange, NBX in August. NBX will integrate Norwegian Air’s existing rewards program, and customers can earn points by trading on the exchange, which they can swap for discounts on tickets and other perks.
And finally, major online tech retailer, Newegg is now expanding its Bitcoin sales service to 73 new countries, which is nearly its full range of operations. Newegg was one of the first major online shopping destinations to start accepting Bitcoin as payment five years ago.
