The SEC’s five-year deadline provides an opportunity to work on what it calls the “mechanics” of the latest technology. In addition to launching the pilot project, the agency is seeking feedback to answer these questions.
Yellen’s warning
Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen told the Senate Finance Committee during its confirmation hearing on January 19 that cryptocurrencies are of particular concern because “a lot is used, at least in the sense of transactions. , mainly for illicit financing. … And I think we really need to look at ways to reduce their use and make sure that… money laundering doesn’t happen through those channels. “
Nonetheless, Lilya Tessler, partner of Sidley Austin LLP, said she expects brokers to allow clients to be able to buy and sell securities with payment in any form – whether with Bitcoin or a other cryptocurrency, like a stablecoin, which is a digital asset. linked to a traditional currency like the dollar.
“I think it’s on the horizon,” Tessler told CQ Roll Call. Brokers might have to work with third parties who can facilitate transactions in unsecured digital assets, she said.
Jorge Pesok, blockchain and digital asset lawyer at Crowell & Moring LLP, noted the challenges: the volatile price of e-currencies like Bitcoin, which makes them risky to accept as payment, and the difference in how Digital currencies are stored in relation to shares of stock or cash deposits for customers.
