SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce—who’s been affectionally nicknamed as “Crypto Mom” by members of the Bitcoin community—is calling for clear cryptocurrency regulations in a recent interview with Reuters.
Peirce, a member of the Republican Party, hopes that the new administration will take “a fresh look” at the fledgling industry:
It’s not only that there have been calls for clarity for some time and that a new administration brings the chance to take a fresh look, but it also is a moment where it seems others in the marketplace are also taking a fresh look.
The watchdog adds that Tesla’s recent Bitcoin bet, as well as major banks joining the party, creates even more urgency for regulatory clarity:
That adds to the urgency of us taking some sort of action in this area to provide more clarity.
A Bitcoin ETF is no longer a pipe dream
Gary Gensler, President Joe Biden’s crypto-savvy SEC chair nominee, is widely expected to be approved by the Senate. However, his hearing is yet to be scheduled by the Senate Banking Committee.
It’s actually common for future heads of federal agencies to wait for quite a while until their nominations get confirmed. For instance, it took about five months to finally approve the nomination of Gensler’s predecessor, Jay Clayton, which was announced by former President Donald Trump in January 2017.
While Clayton openly opposed the launch of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), industry experts hope for a much friendlier touch from Gensler.
Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz predicted that a Bitcoin ETF could launch this year in the U.S.:
My guess is we get an ETF this year. Right now, the next-best thing is the Grayscale Trust.
Earlier this week, Canada approved its first Bitcoin ETF, racing ahead of its southern neighbor.
Valeria Blokhina
