U.S. Regulators Grapple with Booming Crypto Industry
SEC Struggles to Oversee Digital Currencies
As demand grows for cryptocurrency-based investments in the United States, federal government regulators have barely been able to keep pace with developments in this burgeoning financial sector and are grappling with the oversight of initial coin offerings (ICOs) without stifling a blockchain market that has been thriving worldwide.
Hester M. Peirce, a commissioner on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said during a Puerto Rico Blockchain Trade Association conference last week in San Juan that as a greater number of financial institutions address the demand from customers for cryptocurrency-based investment products, the government will have to figure out which crypto assets are being traded as securities for regulatory purposes.
Peirce, an appointee of President Trump, said that the federal government is still figuring out a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency securities, which she stressed is difficult to achieve given the decentralized nature of such transactions.
At the same time, many states such as Wyoming and Texas have set up their own industry regulations designed to encourage digital currency investments.
“In 2022, that will be a big theme because more and more financial institutions are getting asked by their customers how to get exposure to crypto,” the official told an audience of about 400 people attending the conference at an Isla Verde hotel.
During the conference, several cryptocurrency investors and owners of blockchain firms questioned why the SEC has approved a futures bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), but not a spot ETF, and has imposed on cryptocurrency funds “exclusionary rules” such as the accredited investor rules.
One trader acknowledged that the rules have protected “a lot of people from harm but [have] excluded the very types of investors we are trying to include for massive gain and wealth opportunities.”
Crypto investors stressed that countries such as El Salvador, which last month announced it was going to issue bonds that would be related to bitcoin to finance infrastructure, are ahead in developing an established cryptocurrency market. Peirce said that these cases could “have an effect on how crypto is regulated in the United States and inform the landscape of what we are dealing with,” moving the U.S. Congress to act on these issues.
Editor’s note: This report was first published on Dec. 16, 2021, issue of Caribbean Business.
Subscribe here to read the rest of this story and the most important developments of the week.

Related Posts
Latest News
-
The Impact of Climate Change in Puerto Rico and on Humanity
Climate change on Earth affects humanity in all of the...
- Posted May 14, 2022
-
Cowboys and Indians Revisit the Federal Realm
The recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that the...
- Posted May 14, 2022
-
Puerto Rico Has Highest Proportion of Tax Expenditures Globally
Study by Espacios Abiertos Reveals Cost of Economic Incentives is...
- Posted May 14, 2022
-
SSI Exclusion Leaves Puerto Rico in the Cold
Associate Justice Sees Potential Repeal of ‘Shameful’ Insular Cases The...
- Posted May 13, 2022
-
GM Sectec, UPR Sign Cybersecurity Agreement
Organizations Establish Practice Centers for Students in Cybersecurity, IT GM...
- Posted May 13, 2022
-
Government, Academia Reach Agreement to Develop Workforce
Will Provide Training for Participants of Labor Development Program Puerto...
- Posted May 13, 2022
-
Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?
“Where Were You When the Lights Went Out,” the 1968...
- Posted May 7, 2022
-
Amazon Web Services Expands Operations in Puerto Rico
Local Office Will Offer Services to other Caribbean Islands...
- April 22, 2022
-
Pierluisi Eases Most COVID-19 Restrictions
Eliminates Mask Requirement for Most Indoor Settings Gov. Pedro...
- March 10, 2022
-
García Padilla: Rubio Is No Friend of Puerto Rico
Governor Says Rubio's Remarks Confirm he Works for 'Vultures'
- February 26, 2016
- 15
You must be logged in to post a comment Login