In an interview with Bloomberg, the newly appointed SEC official hopes to bring the cryptocurrency market out of the shadows. Valerie Szczepanik, who oversees the nascent cryptocurrency industry, will support and develop the young ecosystem.
In early June, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the creation of a new position of Senior Advisor for Supervision of Digital Asset Regulation. Valerie Szczepanik was appointed to the position. In her new role, she headed the SEC division that oversees initial public offerings and sales of other corporate shares. Szczepanik said much of her work, at the request of SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, focuses on coordinating all of the agency's crypto work across its divisions.
Valerie Szczepanik, in her capacity as the SEC's first-ever digital asset adviser, recognizes the magnitude of the challenges posed by virtual coins. Billions of dollars flow into the unregulated market every month, much of it from small traders. Funds raised from initial coin offerings are growing despite SEC warnings.
The main issues Szczepanik focuses on include:
⁃ ICOs, initial coin offerings. The SEC is concerned that the ICO market is rife with scams, Pump and Dump schemes, and Pyramid schemes. The amount of money being thrown at the tokens is staggering. Last month, ICOs added a record $5.6 billion, according to data compiled by Coinschedule.
⁃ Status of Digital Assets. Determining whether certain coins are securities, which are subject to the same stringent trading and disclosure rules as stocks. Such SEC announcements resulted in traders making or losing large amounts of money within seconds.
⁃ Bitcoin-ETF. Deciding on Exchange Traded Funds, Bitcoin ETF. Crypto investors are desperate for a new exchange-traded vehicle as it could bring trading to the masses, opening up the market to mutual funds and institutional investors.
The 20-year SEC commissioner believes that having established, regulated players can help bring crypto assets out of the shadows by giving authorities more information about what's going on.. But if the market remains opaque, the SEC could become more aggressive, the commissioner warned. If people are unwilling to comply with the rules, if instead they choose to ignore applicable laws, the SEC may resort to repression and bans.
You May Also Like
South Korean province to issue its own cryptocurrency
According to local news sources, Gyeongbuk, a province on the east coast of South Korea, intends to issue its own cryptocurrency and completely replace the local currency used in the province. The provincial government also intends to open an exchange where new coins will be traded, and residents will be able to use QR codes to accept cryptocurrency.
EU Parliament: to regulate or not to regulate? That's the question
The European Parliament met in Strasbourg to discuss issues important to the continent. Blockchain is also on the agenda, but parliamentarians are still divided on the issue.
