The SEC Resets Its Crypto Relationship

Securities and Exchange Commission is looking to reset its relationship with the crypto industry, even before a permanent chair is confirmed by Congress. The latest effort was Friday's roundtable, hosted at the SEC's headquarters in Washington, D. and featuring a dozen attorneys representing different views and positions within the crypto industry. You’re reading State of Crypto, a CoinDesk newsletter looking at the intersection of cryptocurrency and government. Click here to sign up for future editions. Ostrich farms and orange groves The narrative The SEC's reset began when Acting Chair Mark Uyeda launched a crypto task force and oversaw his agency withdraw Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, drop a number of ongoing lawsuits, pause a few more and publish multiple staff statements about how the agency might look at memecoins and proof-of-work mining. Why it matters The SEC is arguably the most important federal regulator in crypto at the moment. While its sister agency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, may be the regulator that might one day oversee crypto spot markets, right now it's the SEC that most companies in the sector look to for guidance on what, exactly, it is they can do. Breaking it down The roundtable was split into two portions (three, if you count introductory remarks from the three commissioners): A roughly 90-minute moderated panel discussion, led by former SEC Commissioner and Paredes Strategies founder Troy Paredes, and a 90-minute town hall still moderated by Paredes but featuring questions from the general public. You can read CoinDesk's coverage of the panel discussion at this link .