The SEC’s acting chairman, Mark Uyeda, thinks a short-term solution could help the US crypto industry thrive. He believes this approach would allow for innovation while the SEC works on long-term regulations.
Boosting Crypto Innovation
Uyeda highlighted blockchain’s potential to make securities trading faster and more efficient. He mentioned using blockchain for managing collateral and the benefits of 24/7 trading through smart contracts offered by decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms.
Federal Regulation vs. State-by-State Rules
He also argued that a single set of federal crypto regulations would be better than having different rules in each state.
A Temporary Solution: Exemptive Relief
Uyeda proposed a temporary “exemptive relief” framework. This would let companies use blockchain technology in new ways, even if those methods aren’t fully compliant with current SEC rules, for a limited time. He encouraged companies working on blockchain-based securities trading to share their ideas on how this temporary fix could work.
Exemptive relief basically means getting a temporary pass from certain SEC rules. This allows companies to offer products that might normally be banned, but only with the SEC’s approval.
Moving Forward
The SEC is working on long-term crypto regulations, but this temporary solution aims to foster innovation in the meantime. The goal is to find a balance between encouraging new technologies and protecting investors.
