• The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been heavily criticized by crypto and investment professionals for having too much power in prosecuting firms they believe are violating regulations.
• Several digital asset companies have expressed concern that the SEC is out of control, and that the US may fall behind other countries who are embracing crypto if it doesn’t change its approach.
• Kristin Smith, Perianne Boring and Brian Quentenz have all spoken out against the SEC’s enforcement activities, claiming that it is creating a hostile environment for crypto businesses.
SEC Criticized for Too Much Power
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has made a lot of enemies in the crypto and investment worlds over the past several years, with several digital asset companies claiming that the company has a ruleset all its own and that it has too much power and pleasure in prosecuting firms it believes go against its narrative.
U.S May Fall Behind if No Change
Brian Quentenz – head of policy at venture capitalist Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) – commented: “The United States [needs] to [decide] about whether it will embrace and support innovators in this country…There are jurisdictions that are mindful about this. That is not what we are seeing in the United States, and the clock is ticking.“ This means that with the SEC currently running the show, there’s a chance America may never catch up to other countries when it comes to cryptocurrency adoption or usage.
SEC Investigating Crypto Companies
Amongst some of the biggest cases being handled by the SEC at present include one against popular Northern California-based digital currency trading platform Kraken – which was recently forced into a settlement with the agency requiring them to pay $30 million in penalty fees as well as cease all staking activities & services.
Industry Leaders Speak Out
Kristin Smith – chief executive of crypto lobby group Blockchain Association – believes that this „crypto carpet-bombing moment“ could lead companies to leave America due to an unfriendly regulatory environment. Furthermore, Perianne Boring – founder & CEO of Chamber of Digital Commerce – noted how she considers these enforcement activities as “regulation by enforcement” because they’re creating new legal precedents without taking into account if companies were operating within regular & legal bounds or not.
Conclusion
It’s clear from industry leaders‘ comments that many feel like something needs to be done about how powerful & influential the SEC is becoming when it comes to enforcing regulations upon cryptocurrency businesses & platforms – otherwise there’s a risk America will fall behind other nations who have embraced or even looked into doing so instead.