The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) might open a new cryptocurrency filing office. The office will be located within the Division of Corporation Finance, which handles disclosures for publicly traded companies, according to Cicely LaMothe, the division’s associate director for disclosure operations.
LaMothe told a legal conference in Washington on Thursday that the SEC saw the new office as necessary to deal with “unique and evolving” filings involving crypto assets, the vast majority of which the SEC considers securities. Much of the cryptocurrency industry has resisted the definition or avoided registering new coins as securities, resulting in enforcement actions or ongoing litigation.
The SEC still needs someone to run the office, which is expected to have legal and accounting branches for crypto firms to consult and file with, according to LaMothe.
Since long before Gensler took over the SEC in April 2021, the SEC has been at odds with much of the crypto industry over whether its regulations should apply to projects that are more decentralized than stocks or bonds. Tensions have risen in the last year, with the SEC chair arguing repeatedly that most tokens are covered by those rules.
According to crypto enthusiasts, forcing digital-asset firms to comply with traditional registration and oversight requirements could effectively kill businesses. Furthermore, some argue that the “decentralized” nature of digital-asset trading makes obtaining the types of information typically required by the SEC difficult.
