The SEC should bring more precise regulatory rules on cryptocurrencies, says Peirce. The commission wasted a lot of time focusing on the “illicit,” said the official.
Hester Peirce, a member of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), criticized that body’s strict regulatory policies around the approval of a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The commissioner stressed that constantly adding more requirements to applicants for bitcoin ETFs “is unfair to innovators.”
The commissioner took part in a virtual conference of the British Blockchain Association on March 15. The commissioner stated in her presentation that regulators should set promotions of more transparent policies to do more accessible work for traditional financial institutions so they can “engage with cryptocurrencies with the confidence that they are complying with regulatory obligations.”
The cryptocurrency-based Exchange-traded Products (ETPs) Area, Which Adheres to Bitcoin ETFs, was a Focal Point of Peirce’s Speech at the Conference
Peirce said the commission’s overly cautious approach makes it more difficult for it to change its stance in the face of successive ETP requests. “If we have said no to one proponent of a product, how can we say yes to another who seeks to offer a similar product?”
Peirce says that the bitcoin ETF is one of the most usual topics in his recent interviews. The official says to date that the SEC has rejected the approval of ETF, “although a growing list of proponents has requested approval.”
Proponents’ Statements and Votes Faced Salvation after the Disapproval of Those Requests
“Rather than applying the fairly straightforward standard that we have typically applied when approving other ETP submissions, including for precious metals like palladium and platinum.”
“We have insisted on increasingly sophisticated analyzes of the relationship between the underlying bitcoin spot market and the market. futures, to determine the susceptibility of these markets to fraud and manipulation.” These words come from Hester Peirce, SEC Commissioner.
It is unclear, Peirce noted, whether previous applications for non-crypto currency ETPs could have received approval under this more rigorous approach.
She also stated that the constantly changing goals and requirements that fall upon applications are unfair to innovators.
“The reluctance of the SEC to allow traditional investment vehicles associated with bitcoin or bitcoin futures has contributed to investors looking for more expensive, less convenient or less direct substitutes,” said the official.
Who is Hester?
Hester Maria Peirce grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio (United States), in a family of academics. Her father was an economics professor at Case Western Reserve University, and in 2006 he ran – unsuccessfully – for governor of Ohio with the libertarian ticket.
Peirce studied economics at Case Western Reserve University, where she obtained her BA in 1993. This training “radically shaped my view of things”; as she recounted in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, including her stance on how regulation can distort incentives for companies and entrepreneurs.
After receiving her doctorate in law from Yale (1997), he served, between 1997 and 1998, as secretary to Judge Roger Barry Andewelt in the Court of Federal Claims.
Hester also worked as an associate at the Washington, DC law firm Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (now WilmerHale). In 2000, Peirce served on the Securities and Exchange Commission, where he worked for eight years. First, he worked as an attorney in the Investment Management Division, and then as an attorney for Commissioner Paul S. Atkins from 2004 to 2008.
By: Jenson Nuñez
