Nasdaq said it will abandon plans for a crypto custodial service because of the regulatory uncertainty that envelopes the digital assets industry in the US.<\/p>\n
Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman announced the decision during the company’s second-quarter earnings call yesterday, indicating that the US’s most important exchange for technology listings may revisit the decision if there’s more clarity over regulation of the crypto sector in future.<\/p>\n
“We like to operate in environments that have a pretty well-known regulatory underpinning,” she said. “That’s just where we’re comfortable. The fundamental business opportunity changed over the last several months and then the regulatory overlay and kind of overhang changed as well. And I think that just made us decide that it’s not the right time for us to enter that business.”<\/p>\n
Nasdaq’s<\/a> decision comes amid growing criticism<\/a> in the US of the SEC’s strategy of regulation by enforcement. Two prominent Republican politicians yesterday added to calls for the regulator to focus instead on providing the industry with greater clarity by building a comprehensive regulatory framework.<\/p>\n The SEC, headed by Gary Gensler, has filed a flurry of enforcement actions in recent months against crypto titans that include the Nasdaq-listed exchange Coinbase and Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The critics say the SEC’s heavy-handed approach is stifling innovation in the industry in the US and risks major crypto companies and jobs decamping to more crypto-friendly jurisdictions such as Singapore, Switzerland and Portugal.<\/p>\n Interesting move from Nasdaq after the much hyped 'institutional effort' to get into crypto… <\/p>\n Where there's smoke there's fire?<\/p>\n What I mean by that is maybe the odds of spot ETF being approved aren't as high as originally thought. <\/p>\n Not an attempt to FUD, just deciphering an… pic.twitter.com\/EpSYQOwrrs<\/a><\/p>\n — ted (@tedtalksmacro) July 19, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n