US Crypto Regulation Debate Intensifies on Capitol Hill

• Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren claims Atkins scaled back oversight, mentioning the SEC under his leadership was unlocking a golden age of fraud. 
• Atkins declined the claims, saying that “Fraud is fraud, whether it be in the crypto area or not.

An intense debate regarding the future of US crypto regulation started on Capitol Hill after senators fought over whether the SEC under the Trump administration is relieving enforcement while pushing for a new statutory framework to have clarity in digital asset markets. 

The Chairman of the SEC, Paul S. Atkins, on February 12, defended a pivot away from what Republicans called “regulation by enforcement” under the last administration and towards a clearer statutory guardrail for virtual assets. 

Tim Scott, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, revealed the digital asset revolution will happen here at home, claiming that Congress must set up transparent rules of the road for digital assets to safeguard investors and secure American competitiveness. 

Scott has also stated that the previous approach took the form of regulation by enforcement rather than clear rules, leaving businesses, builders and investors having confusion and lawsuits. 

The Defense of Atkins 

Paul Atkins, the current chair of the SEC, supported legislative efforts to describe responsibilities between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), mentioning innovators had been clenched between competing regulators. 

He contrasted the previous system to two fortresses on both sides of a no man’s land, where innovators were trapped in that no man’s land, having a crossfire and never actually coming to market. 

Atkins also mentioned that the actual issue that is so significant regarding this legislation is to future-proof things so that there remains a clarity to innovators as between the SEC and the CFTC. 

He further went on to add that the SEC had so far stayed mum and did not alter and accommodate its filings and its forms and rules to accommodate this new innovative technology, igniting uncertainty. However, Democrats cleverly challenged the enforcement record of the agency. 

Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren claims Atkins scaled back oversight, mentioning the SEC under his leadership was unlocking a golden age of fraud. She also claimed that enforcement actions had been reduced, and decisions to drop some cases of crypto companies and executives were questioned. 

Atkins declined the claims, saying that “Fraud is fraud, whether it be in the crypto area or not. He maintained the agency was returning its enforcement programme to first principles of removing fraud and fixing investor harm. ”

Highlighted Crypto News Today: 

Buck Raises Core Token Yield to 10% with Automatic Wallet Payouts