- The SEC recently published its spring 2021 agenda, but cryptocurrency reform was not on it
- The agenda outlined the agency’s revised short- and long-term goals which were varied but did not mention the cryptocurrency markets
- New SEC boss Gary Gensler has previously said that crypto exchange regulation was needed
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently outlined its spring 2021 agenda, and there was a notable absentee – the cryptocurrency market. The SEC’s list of aims and objectives for the coming months was contained within the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Spring 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions and featured a number of short- and long-term targets, but the cryptocurrency sector was not among them. This is despite SEC chairs both former and incumbent discussing cryptocurrency regulation in recent months.
Gensler Previously Spoke About Crypto Exchange Regulation
The spring 2021 SEC agenda featured a number of areas the commission wants to focus on in the coming months and years, and includes areas such as market structure modernization, investment fund rules, and disclosure relating to climate risk, human capital, and cybersecurity risk.
Given how much cryptocurrency regulation has been discussed in the past few months it is somewhat surprising that regulation of the sector doesn’t feature anywhere in the agency’s latest plans, especially after new SEC chair Gary Gensler said last month that he thought users of cryptocurrency exchanges needed protection.
However, in an appearance before the Senate Banking Committee back in March, Gensler sounded vague about cryptocurrency regulation, with the new incumbent preferring to focus on traditional trading apps such as Robinhood.
SEC Sees Crypto Regulation a Tough Nut to Crack
Former SEC chair Harvey Pitt said in April that he expected to see a “fair amount” of crypto regulation under Gensler, so it is interesting that it doesn’t appear anywhere in the commission’s first agenda under his watch. Of course, regulation of crypto markets is inevitable, but as Gensler himself argued, doing so will involve multiple agencies working together and will require time and resources the SEC simply doesn’t have at the moment.
