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SEC to Host Public Fintech Forum for Digital Assets in May
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The United States’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has organized a Fintech forum in May 2019. The event will be open to the public, and aims to facilitate greater communication with the digital asset industry.
Digital Asset Regulation in the United States
The SEC’s stance on digital asset regulation has had mixed reception.
SEC Chairman Jay Clayton has said on numerous occasions that virtually all Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) he has seen, represent securities. They therefore need to abide by the commission’s securities regulations, since he is “not going to change rules just to fit a technology”. Put into context, his larger point suggests that while Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) may be innovative, the underlying method of raising capital through an ICO fits the mold of a security.
Yet exactly how companies can compliantly proceed— both those who have already raised funds with digital assets and those who wish to— isn’t entirely clear.
Just recently, for example, Clayton announced that Ethereum is not a security.
Regulatory ambiguity has consistently clouded the digital asset space. As a result, many companies have ditched the ICO and turned to the Security Token Offering (STO) as a viable alternative to legally raising private capital.
Last year the SEC established its Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub) to combat the lack of regulatory clarity. In May 2019, FinHub will hold a public forum to foster greater communication with the digital asset industry.
Details of the SEC’s Fintech Forum in May 2019 Explained
The forum will take place on May 31st 2019 at the SEC’s headquarters in Washington, DC.
The event is open to the public and will also be live-streamed.
Panelists will include experts from the Fintech industry as well as academic leaders. The event aims “to foster greater communication and understanding around issues involving DLT and digital assets”.
Topics are said to include ICOs, DLT innovations, digital asset platforms, and the impact these have on both investors and markets.
According to the SEC, more information will be made available in the coming weeks.
What do you think about the SEC’s stance on digital asset regulation? How will it unfold in the future, and how will it impact other securities watchdogs around the world? We want to know what you think in the comments section below.
Image courtesy of SEC.
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Tim Fries
Tim Fries is the cofounder of The Tokenist. He has a B. Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Tim served as a Senior Associate on the investment team at RW Baird's US Private Equity division, and is also the co-founder of Protective Technologies Capital, an investment firm specializing in sensing, protection and control solutions.
