Despite recent SEC enforcement actions against Kraken and Paxos, Jeff Zelkowitz, executive vice president of APCO Worldwide, said there is a desire and drive among US lawmakers to “get things done.”
Zelkowitz has issued a regulatory outlook for the United States. CoinMarketCap’s 2023 Crypto Playbook. The playbook covers the future possibilities of various sectors such as DeFi and user adoption, according to key industry figures.
Cryptocurrency regulation has been a pressing issue in the last year, with many flashpoints including the Tornado Cash sanctions and the EU’s Crypto Asset Market (MiCA) law picking out stablecoins.
Towards 2023, Zelkowitz While acknowledging that there is a long way to go, he sees lawmakers working together in the right direction.
US Crypto Regulation Is A Mess
Recent enforcement actions have fueled a narrative that the SEC is desperate to sabotage the U.S. crypto industry, ultimately pushing innovation into more friendly jurisdictions.
but, Zelkowitz takes a different look at the issue. He spoke of both parties’ desire to use technology to consolidate financial control of the United States. At the same time, Zelkowitz acknowledged that legislators must balance this with their commitment to villains.
“It is clear that U.S. policymakers The major parties want to strengthen America’s leadership in the global financial system and in the world. Technological frontier – while defending this frontier from the bad guys. ”
A major criticism of the US regulatory approach to digital assets is the lack of a unified framework. This means that oversight is carried out by a patchwork of state and federal financial regulators applying existing laws. Some argue that this method fails to adequately capture the nuances of cryptocurrencies.
Adopting this approach creates duplication and even friction between different regulators, further exacerbating the compliance landscape.
US Regulatory Outlook
Recent efforts to fix this problem include: white house executive order and Senator Gillibrand and Senator Ramis Proposal responsible finance innovation law Zelkowitz cited as evidence “College tone” among US lawmakers in pushing for proper crypto regulation.
However, this momentum The US midterm elections, the collapse of FTX, Zelkowitz Said.
Noting several high-profile SEC enforcement actions, including the ongoing lawsuit against Ripple, Zelkowitz He admitted that the public was “upset” by the apparent unfairness of the case.
This has raised calls for the CFTC to intervene and make a difference. This refers to CFTC as “softer touchcompared to SEC.
Whether that is the case or not, there remains a chasm to be closed in deciding how to move forward, starting with classifying cryptocurrencies as securities or commodities.
Zelkowitz We recognize that there is a lot of work to be done to form the right framework. But thankfully, he sees both parties poised to make it happen.
