Due to the influx of filings from U.S. cryptocurrency issuers, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided to create two new bureaus this fall to provide dedicated support to the seven bureaus currently tasked with reviewing issuer filings . Additionally, U.S. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler revealed that he has asked SEC staff to fine-tune regulations on cryptocurrencies and intermediaries. He emphasized that the vast majority of cryptocurrencies are securities.
According to the Disclosure Review Program (DRP) under the SEC’s Corporate Finance Department , the SEC intends to add two new bureaus, one is the Crypto Assets Bureau, and the other is the Industry Application and Services Bureau, focusing on processing Crypto assets and industrial applications and services.
Renee Jones, Director of Corporate Finance, said: ” The establishment of these new offices will allow DRP to sharpen its focus on cryptoassets, financial institutions, life sciences and industrial applications and services, and advance our ability to achieve our mission.”
According to the statement, the Bureau of Crypto Assets will take over the DRP’s task of reviewing cryptocurrency applications , allowing the department to refocus its resources on handling unique and evolving application review issues related to cryptoassets.
At the same time, the forthcoming Industrial Applications and Services Bureau will take over work related to non-pharmaceutical, non-biotech and non-pharmaceutical products from the Life Sciences Bureau.
On the other hand, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler spoke about cryptocurrency regulation and compliance last Thursday during an SEC speech session at the nonprofit continuing legal education organization Practi sing Law Institute. He stated that the core principles of the SEC regulations apply to all securities markets, including securities and intermediaries in the cryptocurrency market. Gensler said
Of the nearly 10,000 coins in the cryptocurrency market, I think the vast majority of them are securities. The issuance and sale of these thousands of cryptographic security tokens are covered under securities laws.
Gensler described Bitcoin in his speech last Thursday:
The SEC chairman also stressed the need for investor protection. ” I’ve asked SEC staff to work directly with businesses to have their tokens registered and regulated like securities,” he said. ” I’ve asked staff to work with intermediaries to make sure they register every feature, including Exchanges, brokers, custody functions, etc.”
