Update from SXSW: Regulations boost Crypto Markets!
The Crypto Spring is Coming Soon! And it is looking Rosy!
Spring will soon be in the air and so will several new regulations that will be in favor of the digital currency market. At SXSW, Valerie Szczepanik from the US Securities and Exchange Commission had positive thoughts about the upcoming regulations helping to boost the crypto ecosystem. As Steve Case (CEO of AOL) has mentioned in the past, it is important to work “with” the regulators as the 3rd wave of web 3.0 continues to unravel and break loose.
This resonates well with the quote mentioned by Valerie that it is “important to find the regulators than them finding you”. The new SEC’s finhub “office hours” like division provides a support system for entrepreneurs to help determine if something is compliant or not. This is very helpful especially in an environment where clear guidelines are not developed or are still being developed. This may be a unique time where it is better to ask for permission first before forgiveness. Valerie also mentioned that “that some companies will go offshore in search of more lenient regulatory regimes, but she said the real opportunity is with companies that abide by the stronger U.S. rules. “There are benefits to doing it the right way. And when they do that they will be the gold standard,” she contended. Beyond the U.S., Szczepanik said regulators around the world are in regular contact about distributed ledger technology. “I think there’s a lot of excitement around the globe about how DLT can be deployed to increase efficiency,” she said.”
Other countries have not seen the same level of support and optimism. The Bank of Mexico https://news.bitcoin.com/bank-of-mexicos-attempt-regulate-crypto-disaster/ has reported issues with how regulation is being handled by guiding that financial technology institutions must “prevent consumers from being ‘exposed’ to the terrible ‘dangerous’ nature of virtual assets on the grounds of their ‘volatility’ and ‘complexity.'” This is a difficult requirement to follow given that digital assets or any asset by nature has the characteristic of volatility.”
Canada on the other hand has made it an initiative to “adapt existing laws in order to cope with the emergence of new trading platforms specializing in crypto-assets. According to the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) president and CEO Andrew J. Kriegler: “We must adapt to innovation, and provide clarity to the market about how regulatory requirements might best be tailored and applied to these unique business models, while maintaining investor protection.” This is more important to consider especially after the large Quadriga CX controversy.