SEC's new chairman to conduct a comprehensive review of cryptocurrency regulations

## Towards a New Era

On the 19th, Paul Atkins, the new chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, announced a comprehensive review of cryptocurrency regulations at an annual conference. He stated, “A new era has begun for the SEC,” criticizing the “ad-hoc” enforcement measures taken under the previous administration.

Mr. Atkins pointed out that the cryptocurrency market has been “stagnant within the SEC for many years” and emphasized that regulators should embrace, rather than fear, technological innovation. He criticized the previous administration’s enforcement approach of “shoot first, ask questions later,” which did not build trust with market participants.

Under the new administration, three key areas for cryptocurrency policy were established: “Issuance”, “Storage”, and “Trading”. In the issuance area, a commitment was made to formulate clear guidelines regarding the circulation of cryptocurrencies considered as securities, and a review of the application forms that had not been updated until now was announced.

In the custody sector, the staff accounting bulletin No. 121 was withdrawn, and regulations that hindered banks from entering the virtual currency custody business were lifted. Mr. Atkins announced that he would clarify the types of eligible custodians and consider the establishment of exception provisions to correspond with practices in the virtual currency market.

Furthermore, in the field of trading, it was stated that “market participants in the securities market should not be forced to expand overseas for blockchain technological innovation.” It was mentioned that they are considering conditional exemption measures for new services that do not comply with current regulations, aiming to realize a “super app” that allows securities and non-securities transactions under one roof.