The heads of the two federal agencies that hold the fate of US crypto most in their hands hosted an event Thursday to signal their commitment to coming up with crypto policies.
Even as crypto legislation moves into motion and starts through Congress, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are trying to advance regulatory policy to give the industry some comfort in doing US business. The CFTC has a new head, Mike Selig, who was sworn in last month following his Senate confirmation and is already moving forward with crypto initiatives.
“Chairman Selig brings to the CFTC exactly what this moment calls for: a deep respect for market integrity, paired with a practical understanding of how innovation drives prosperity for the American people,” said SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, whose first year at the helm has already represented a sharp turnaround from Democratic predecessor Gary Gensler’s digital asset sector. He said the agencies will “put every tool at our disposal to reduce friction, to harmonize standards and definitions where appropriate, and to instill confidence in markets as Congress completes its vital work.”
The SEC is responsible for securities and that would include tokenization and any cryptocurrency deemed to check that box, although leading tokens such as bitcoin and Ethereum’s ether is under the jurisdiction of the CFTC.
The event appears to be a redux of an earlier joint meeting between Atkins and Selig’s immediate predecessor, then-acting chairwoman Caroline Pham.
