TheCorporateCounsel.net

Yesterday came the first big crypto announcement from the SEC under Acting Chair Uyeda’s leadership — the creation of a crypto task force charged with “developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework.” Commissioner Peirce has been tapped to lead the task force, with Richard Gabbert, Senior Advisor to the Acting Chairman, to serve as Chief of Staff, and Taylor Asher, Senior Policy Advisor to the Acting Chairman, to serve as Chief Policy Advisor.

Here’s more from the press release:

To date, the SEC has relied primarily on enforcement actions to regulate crypto retroactively and reactively, often adopting novel and untested legal interpretations along the way. Clarity regarding who must register, and practical solutions for those seeking to register, have been elusive. The result has been confusion about what is legal, which creates an environment hostile to innovation and conducive to fraud . . .

The Task Force’s focus will be to help the Commission draw clear regulatory lines, provide realistic paths to registration, craft sensible disclosure frameworks, and deploy enforcement resources judiciously.

The release notes that the task force intends to hold roundtables for public input but, for now, interested parties can share thoughts at crypto@sec.gov.

I had initially written a blog about two other crypto developments that now seem moot, but ICYMI:

– Last week, the Third Circuit ordered the SEC to fully explain why it has failed to promulgate rules for crypto regulation.

– In the separate dispute between the SEC and Coinbase regarding the SEC’s enforcement action alleging that Coinbase operated as an unregistered broker, exchange, and clearing agency, Coinbase recently won its motion for interlocutory appeal to the Second Circuit.

– Meredith Ervine