The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has a burning desire to enforce its domain on the blockchain world, and it’s currently exploring new ways to expand its efforts. The SEC has posted a business opportunity on the infamous government contracting website, Federal Business Opportunities, and it’s looking for a company to provide blockchain data.
Any firm that steps up and accepts the task will undoubtedly go down in history as a blockchain villain, but is this a necessary step that crypto must pass through in order to become mainstream?
On Demand Data
The SEC isn’t looking to mess around when it comes to getting its hands on the data it needs to monitor the blockchain world. No, the SEC isn’t going to be running its own nodes, but it does want the agency or company that wins the contract to do so. SEC claims that it wants the data in order to monitor risk, improve compliance and inform Commission policy.
Monitoring Bitcoin Closely
The company that wins the contract must run their own Bitcoin and Ethereum self-hosted nodes, rather than 2nd or 3rd party data sources. As well as Bitcoin and Ethereum, the SEC would like the ability to receive blockchain data for Bitcoin Cash, Stellar, Zcash, EOS, NEO, and XRP Ledger. On top of these, the SEC might request more blockchain data from other blockchains as they rise to prominence, giving the contractor 3 months to add the data stream.
Big Brother is Watching
Once the SEC secures its data streams, there will be no more hiding for US citizens. The SEC will know every transaction you make and it will be able to link every crypto transaction you make back to you. This is classic American government monitoring and we already see this level on privacy intrusion in regular fiat payments. Once the SEC has this data link, there is a good chance we could see cryptocurrencies become normalized and widely accepted in the US as the stigma of being used by criminals will be removed. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has already said that crimes using Bitcoin are falling thanks to the fact these deals are easy to track.
The SEC has shut down a number of Bitcoin ETF proposals owing to the lack of regulation in the industry, but this new data stream could allow the SEC to relax a little. On top of possibly approving an ETF, the SEC could give Bitcoin the green light to be accepted around the country as a recognized form of payment. If so, Bitcoin and the American crypto world will flourish.
