The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) directs a regulatory plan that tries to add digital assets into the old regulatory rules. The agency does this through some coordinated rules. The SEC has a project, Project Crypto along with with this project the agency cares about clear rules and wants to help on chain markets grow.
Project Crypto
The agency still wants to use its power to stop bad acts. The rules allow for better on chain work plus help regulated money products. The rules also help the new rules work with old rules. Clear rules reduce legal questions for issuers and investors – it also helps institutions use the products. It helps them launch token products and regulated custody solutions. The plan helps on chain markets by setting a path to check operations but also post-trade steps on the blockchain.
There are also problems and tensions
A clearer set of rules also means costs for following the rules. This may give an advantage to old players. Rules about technology and about reports usually mean that firms with more money get most of the work – this may mean that the rules favor the firms. The SEC still stops bad acts, which makes new projects careful.
The rules may not work with truly decentralized models
Rules about openness, about custody, or about who controls the other party can limit options for self custody. The rules can also slow down protocols without an intermediary. That affects the financial freedom that the ecosystem promotes.
The institutional sector looks at this idea with careful hope
At the same time, a new law wants to make clear which agency, the SEC or the CFTC, has power; this will add more political talk before the rules are final. This could make institutions adopt digital assets faster and make on chain markets official. The main problem will be to balance investor safety with keeping decentralization and financial freedom. The real effect will depend on how specific the rules are plus if the ecosystem can handle too much control without stopping new ideas.
