A high-ranking U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official is criticizing the regulator for policies that could prove detrimental to the economy and potentially erode faith in the institution.
In a new public statement, Commissioner Hester Peirce says the SEC’s actions not only run counter to its mission but also risk longer-term damage to the capital markets.
“Chair Gensler’s Regulatory Flexibility Agenda for the Securities and Exchange Commission sets forth flawed goals and a flawed method for achieving them.
The agenda, if enacted, risks setting off the regulatory version of a rip current – fast-moving currents flowing away from shore that can be fatal to swimmers.
The pace and character of the rulemakings on this agenda make for dangerous conditions in our capital markets.”
The commissioner addresses concerns about SEC proposals regarding cryptocurrencies, saying,
“Although the Agenda includes rules that might regulate crypto protocols or platforms through an unmarked backdoor, it does not appear to include any rules primarily intended to grapple with the main regulatory questions that have arisen around these assets.”
Peirce is also concerned that accelerating the policy-making process could keep market participants from submitting their opinions and responses to proposed rules.
Commissioner Peirce concludes her remarks by warning about the negative consequences of enacting hasty policies.
“When the Commission attempts rapidly to write and implement myriad rules, many of which are outside our longstanding mandate, it sets up conditions that could roil the markets.
We can avoid creating regulatory rip currents by recalibrating our agenda to focus on issues core to the protection of investors and operation of our markets and by slowing down the pace to ensure that we and the public can think about what we are doing.”
Peirce has publicly criticized the SEC’s policies in the past, including taking issue earlier this week with the agency’s continued resistance to permitting spot-priced exchange-traded fund (ETF) for Bitcoin (BTC).
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