Acting Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mark Uyeda, has emphasized the urgency of a temporary regulatory solution for the country’s burgeoning crypto industry. Uyeda suggests that this “band-aid” fix could stimulate innovation while the SEC crafts a more permanent legal structure.
Addressing the SEC’s Crypto Task Force roundtable on April 11, aptly named “Between a Block and a Hard Place: Tailoring Regulation for Crypto Trading,” Uyeda proposed a “conditional exemptive relief framework” for both registrants and non-registrants. This provision would foster blockchain innovation in the US in the short term, he argued.
Uyeda’s proposition would help counter immediate challenges while the SEC works toward a comprehensive long-term solution, he stated at the roundtable meeting featuring SEC members and crypto industry leaders such as Katherine Minarik from Uniswap Labs, Chelsea Pizzola from Cumberland DRW, and Coinbase’s Gregory Tusar.
The acting chair highlighted the problem of state-by-state crypto trading regulation, warning of a potential “patchwork of state licensing regimes.” Uyeda argued that a favorable federal regulatory framework would simplify the process for market participants keen to offer tokenized securities and non-security crypto assets. It would enable them to operate under a single SEC license, instead of navigating through “fifty different state licenses.”
Uyeda encouraged crypto market players to provide feedback on areas where “exemptive relief” might be suitable. He also echoed the potential benefits of blockchain technology in the financial markets. “Blockchain technology offers the potential to execute and clear securities transactions in ways that may be more efficient and reliable than current processes,” Uyeda noted.
Until Paul Atkins, nominee of US President Donald Trump, officially assumes the SEC chair position, Uyeda will continue to serve as acting chair. The US Senate confirmed Atkins as the SEC chair on April 10 with a 52-44 vote primarily along party lines. Uyeda has filled the acting SEC chair role since January 20, succeeding former chair and known crypto skeptic Gary Gensler. He is widely considered a pro-crypto advocate within the industry.
As reported by Cointelegraph on March 18, Uyeda stated that the SEC might alter or abandon a rule proposed under the Biden administration that would intensify crypto custody standards for investment advisers. “I have asked the SEC staff to work closely with the crypto task force to consider appropriate alternatives, including its withdrawal,” Uyeda said.
