SEC Chairman: The U.S. Missed the Window for Cryptocurrency Regulation and is Accelerating the Modernization of Rules

The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Paul Atkins, stated that the SEC is working to reinvigorate the pace of progress in the field of cryptocurrency regulation to make up for previous shortcomings in policy-making.

He pointed out at an event at the University of Texas that regulators have failed to timely adapt to industry innovation trends in the past. Atkins noted that since the Trump administration took office, the SEC's stance has become more open, having established a cryptocurrency working group, withdrawn multiple enforcement cases, and launched the "Project Crypto" initiative to promote updates to the regulatory framework. He emphasized that, compared to short-term price fluctuations, there is a greater focus on the application prospects of distributed ledger technology in payment, clearing, and settlement systems.

Additionally, the SEC has approved WisdomTree's digital currency market fund for 24/7 trading and instant settlement this week. Atkins also revealed plans to explore the launch of tokenized bank deposit products in the future.