- Atkins met with financial compliance lawyers and industry representatives
- Asset tokenization is reportedly among key topics that have grabbed the attention of the federal agencies
- CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline Pham seconded Atkins
Paul Atkins, the chairperson of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said that crypto-related policy adjustments are the main area of focus for its ongoing work with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This week, Atkins organized a roundtable discussion on harmonizing the policy work with CFTC.
The SEC and the CFTC will respectively be overseeing the regulatory developments on crypto securities and digital assets transactions respectively. Together, the federal agencies aim to let fintech firms offer commodities and securities services without encountering snags.
At the roundtable, Atkins met with financial compliance lawyers and industry representatives. He said that building a framework to let agencies coordinate seamlessly is crucial. During the discussion, Atkins reiterated that crypto is presently the top priority for both, the SEC as well as the CFTC.
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Asset tokenization is reportedly among key topics that have grabbed the attention of the federal agencies. The process essentially allows physical properties to be converted into fractional digital units on a given blockchain. This process is known to enhance the liquidity of any physical property, without having its actual composition and integrity changed.
As per Atkins, it could take a “year or two” to thoroughly analyze the process and finalize accurate regulations around the activity.
CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline Pham seconded Atkins in the projected outlook for the agencies’ collaboration. Both also dismissed speculations of potential merger of the SEC with the CFTC.
Last month, the President’s Working Group (PWG) directed the SEC to amend existing securities and commodities regulations to accommodate the crypto sector. The intention is to bring back crypto businesses that fled the country over the last few years owing to legislative uncertainty around the industry.
Earlier this month, Atkins told the OCED that over time, the SEC modernize the securities law in such a way that the markets are allowed to move on-chain.
“The choices we make in the next few years will determine whether America leads the digital age, or whether we watch from the sidelines,” the official statement from the SEC said.
