Innovative exemptions can help realize President Trump's vision of making the United States the "global crypto capital."

Author: Paul S. Atkins, Chairman

Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow

Thank you, good afternoon. I am very pleased to gather with everyone today. First, I want to thank Commissioner Peirce and the cryptocurrency working group for organizing today's event, and I also appreciate the participation of Commissioners Crenshaw and Uyeda. Of course, I would like to especially thank the discussion guests and moderator Troy Paredes for their voluntary contributions of time and expertise to support our cause.

The theme of today's roundtable is "Decentralized Finance and the American Spirit." This theme is very fitting because the core American values of economic freedom, private property rights, and innovation are deeply embedded in the DNA of decentralized finance (DeFi).

Blockchain is undoubtedly a highly creative and potentially revolutionary innovation that allows us to rethink the ownership and transfer of intellectual and economic property. Blockchain is a shared database that enables ownership of a digital property known as crypto assets without relying on intermediaries or centralized institutions. These peer-to-peer networks encourage participants to verify and maintain the database according to network rules through economic mechanisms. These are free market systems where users pay demand-based fees to network participants to have their transaction records included in so-called "data blocks" with limited storage capacity.

Previously, the U.S. government has prevented Americans from participating in these market-based systems through litigation, speeches, regulation, and threats of regulatory action, claiming that participants and providers of "staking-as-a-service" may be involved in securities transactions. I am grateful that the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance has clearly stated that voluntary participation in proof-of-work or proof-of-stake networks as "miners," "validators," or "staking-as-a-service" providers is not within the scope of federal securities laws. While I am pleased with this development, it is not a legally binding formal rule, so we cannot stop here. The Securities and Exchange Commission must develop relevant regulations based on the authority granted to us by Congress.

Another core feature of blockchain technology is the ability for individuals to manage crypto assets independently through personal digital wallets. The right to self-manage private property is one of America's fundamental values, and this right should not disappear simply because people log onto the internet. I support providing greater flexibility for market participants to self-manage crypto assets, especially when intermediaries have added unnecessary transaction costs or restricted the ability to participate in staking and other on-chain activities.

The previous administration weakened the innovation of self-managing digital wallets and other on-chain technologies through regulatory actions, claiming that developers of such software might be engaging in brokerage activities. However, engineers should not be bound by federal securities laws simply for releasing such software code. As one court stated, it is irrational to hold developers of autonomous vehicles responsible for third-party misuse of the vehicles, such as violating traffic laws or robbing banks—quoting the court's ruling, "In this case, people would not sue the car company for assisting in the wrongdoing, but would sue the individuals committing the wrongdoing."

Many entrepreneurs are developing software applications that do not require operator management. This self-executing software code, which is available for everyone to use but controlled by no one, and capable of facilitating private peer-to-peer transactions, sounds like science fiction, but blockchain technology makes it all possible. This new category of software can perform these functions without intermediaries. I believe we should not let a regulatory framework that has existed for a century hinder technological innovations that could disrupt, and most importantly, improve and advance the current traditional intermediary model. We should not automatically fear the future.

These on-chain self-executing software systems have shown resilience in the face of crises. While centralized platforms have faltered or even collapsed under recent pressures, many on-chain systems continue to operate as designed by open-source code.

Most current securities rules and regulations are based on the regulation of issuers and intermediaries (such as broker-dealers, advisors, exchanges, and clearinghouses). The drafters of these rules and regulations may not have anticipated that self-executing software code could replace these issuers and intermediaries. I have asked the Commission's staff to explore whether further guidance or rulemaking is needed to assist registrants in transacting with these software systems while complying with applicable laws.

I am also very excited about issuers and intermediaries using on-chain software systems to eliminate economic friction, enhance capital efficiency, support new financial products, and increase liquidity. Current securities regulations have considered the possibility of issuers and intermediaries using new technologies, but I have asked the staff to consider whether revisions to the Commission's rules and regulations are necessary to better support those issuers and intermediaries wishing to manage on-chain financial systems.

As the Commission and its staff work to propose specialized rules applicable to on-chain financial markets, I have instructed the staff to consider a conditional exemption framework or "innovation exemption" to quickly allow registrants and non-registrants to bring on-chain products and services to market. The innovation exemption can help realize President Trump's vision of making the United States the "global crypto capital" by encouraging developers, entrepreneurs, and other companies willing to comply with specific conditions to innovate in on-chain technology in the U.S.

Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to the upcoming discussion.

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