Senator Elizabeth Warren’s bill aims to transfer control to the SEC by imposing new obligations on centralized crypto firms, which Jeffrey Sprecher says is good for crypto.
According to Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE) CEO Jeffrey Sprecher and Senator Elizabeth Warren, most cryptocurrencies are likely to be regulated as securities in the United States.
The renewed attention to the regulation of cryptocurrencies as securities is due to the recent FTX crash, which wiped out countless billions from the market, sent consumer funds into limbo, and damaged the reputation of cryptocurrencies among regulators and officials.
Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Group Inc. financial services conference Dec. 6, Sprecher, whose ICE operates the New York Stock Exchange, confidently stated that crypto assets “will be regulated and treated like securities.”
He argued that this would eventually lead to much greater consumer protection and regulatory oversight of centralized exchanges and brokers:
What does this mean? This indicates more transparency, it indicates segregated client funds, the broker’s role as a broker will be monitored and trades will be separated from brokers. Settlement and clearing will be separate from trades.
Sprecher also argued that new regulation is not necessarily required for cryptocurrencies, as the legal framework is already in place in terms of security and it “simply will be enforced more harshly.”
Senator Warren wants to crack the whip
Cryptocurrency skeptic Senator Elizabeth Warren is working on a cryptocurrency bill that would give the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), led by Gary Gensler, most of the regulatory powers in the cryptocurrency space.
According to a Dec. 7 report by online publication Semafor, which cites two unnamed people familiar with the matter, Warren’s cryptocurrency bill is still in its early stages but aims to address a variety of issues, including taxation, regulation, national security and climate change. .
Warren will seek to introduce regulatory requirements such as audited financial statements and, in particular, bank-style capital requirements.
Although specific details of the bill were not released, Warren spokesman Alex Sarabia confirmed to Semafor that the senator is addressing the SEC.
“She works on legislation on cryptocurrencies and believes that financial regulators, including the SEC, have broad powers to combat crypto-currency fraud and illegal money laundering,” Sarabia said.
There has been a longstanding debate among regulators over which crypto assets should be categorized as a commodity or security, with Bitcoin BTC ↑ $17,033.
it is the only asset that is unanimously considered a commodity due to its truly decentralized nature.
Ether ETH ↓ $1,262 has also been occasionally discussed as a commodity, but much more retroactively. Notably, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostyn Behnam recently revisited his view of ETH as a commodity during a speech at a private crypto event at Princeton University. He now believes that Bitcoin has this status.
In the world of cryptocurrencies, MicroStrategy founder and bitcoin maximalist Michael Saylor went even further, calling for essentially shutting down all non-BTC crypto assets because, he claimed, they were “committing securities fraud.”
During a Dec. 6 appearance on the PDB podcast, Sailor reaffirmed his view that assets such as Ripple XRP ↑ $0.38, ETH and Solana SOL ↓ $14 are non-registered securities because they were issued and controlled by centralized organizations.
After drawing the scenario he would like to see, the BTC maxi-enthusiast noted that “the best thing in the world would be for the SEC to shut everything down.”
Twitter users, of course, ridiculed him for such comments:
“They are committing securities fraud…especially with Ethereum. @saylor shares his thoughts on Ethereum and Rippe pic.twitter.com/STsuLX5FQh
— PBD Podcast (@PBDsPodcast) December 6, 2022