SEC and the crypto market. The confrontation begins

The Confrontation Begins: The SEC Commissioner Accuses His Agency of Misapplication of the Law Regarding the Ban on Bitcoin ETF Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust. Nasdaq organizes secret meeting of lobbyists.

2018 continues to be the year of government decisions on digital currencies. Significant debate and controversy have divided US regulators into two camps. The divided view of Congress and the ambiguous position of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) affect market quotes.

The SEC dealt another blow to the crypto market by repeatedly refusing to launch a Bitcoin ETF for the Winklevoss twins. 

After this news, the market went into a steep decline and the price of Bitcoin fell to $7,815 on Friday morning. Largely due to the opinion of analysts, who took this as a signal from the SEC to deny approval to all cryptocurrency ETF applications that are currently under review by the agency. 

However, this decision became a stumbling block not only among cryptocurrency enthusiasts, but also within the Commission itself.

So, SEC Commissioner Hester M. Pierce went into official opposition and published her personal point of view on the agency’s website. Pierce is confident that government regulators not only made a mistake in rejecting the Winklevoss ETF, but also exceeded the agency's powers in regulating the securities markets. In particular, she claims that the agency is trying to assess the characteristics of the crypto market and predict the future of digital funds as a financial product. While the Commission’s task is to provide all possible information to investors to make informed decisions. The commission, according to Pierce, should create rules that prevent market manipulation and ensure market transparency and investor protection. 

The largest players in the crypto industry also seem to be tired of patiently observing the actions of the SEC and have taken up active lobbying for their interests.

Nasdaq, the second largest stock exchange in the world, held a meeting to discuss ways to legitimize cryptocurrencies as an asset class.

The closed Chicago meeting brought together interested participants in the cryptocurrency market and representatives of the traditional stock world from Wall Street. Representatives of the crypto industry discussed the consequences of the lack of regulation of cryptocurrency and possible ways to strengthen the reputation of Bitcoin and other crypto assets.. 

Stock Exchange CEO Adena Friedman noted back in the spring that as soon as regulation is streamlined and the financial space “matures,” Nasdaq will consider trading digital currencies. Nasdaq's latest actions suggest that the financial space has matured, but the key obstacle for institutional investors - regulation - has not changed. Moreover, most institutional investors and stock exchange representatives take this wait-and-see attitude. The lack of support and clear regulation is holding back the injection of large capital into the cryptocurrency market.