Former CFTC commissioner criticizes the SEC for not taking crypto regulations seriously

The topic of regulating cryptocurrencies has recently received a lot of attention in the US, but also a lot of criticism, as the regulators are seemingly not doing everything in their power to deliver proper results. Brian Quintenz, the former commissioner of the country’s other regulatory body, CFTC, recently commented on the matter, saying that things would be a lot better if the SEC took things seriously.

Quintenz said that he understands the crypto industry’s dissatisfaction with the Securities and Exchange Commission but also that he believes that regulation itself is not the real problem. He acknowledged the fact that the regulatory environment is quite cumbersome for crypto the way it is now, which makes people willing to turn to different entities if that could mean firm and fair laws for the digital asset industry.

Essentially, he believes that the crypto ecosystem just wants rules that fit its technology. They should be fit for purpose and also allow innovation to reach its full potential. However, he also noted that crypto users would not get this from the SEC.

Ex CFTC commissioner on crypto regulations

During his time as the CFTC commissioner, Quintenz was there to witness the listing of BTC futures contracts in the United States. He also saw the creation of tokenized commodities and many other crypto-related developments. He mentioned all of this in a statement published at the end of his term.

Now, he has seen that some regulators have taken a certain approach to crypto that has been more resistant to change instead of helping this technology reach greater levels of adoption. He believes that it is within the SEC’s capabilities to create a securities-like regulatory structure that would still not threaten the entire ecosystem. Of course, labeling cryptos as securities would raise problems, especially in terms of how different entities using them could comply with the existing rules.

He believes that this would be unfair, as it would impose obligations on parties that cannot meet said obligations. For example, calling something a security would imply that the asset has a centralized issuer. They would then be required to send proxy statements to all token holders, which would be next to impossible to do.

Quintenz concluded that the SEC’s approach had left it up to congress to create a new framework. This is why he has been working with elected officials, trying to educate them on the benefits of a properly regulated crypto industry. He believes that informed Congress members and senators will approach the matter more rationally and with greater productivity.

He also stands firmly against the notion that any regulation would be bad for the industry. There would be a change in crypto if regulations get implemented, but if they are good regulations, then the changes will be for the better.

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