Hester M. Peirce suggests a collaborative effort toward building out a regulatory framework.<\/p>\n
A top official from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has commended a joint regulatory framework proposal by two of the leading financial authorities in the U.K. and proposes a joint effort between the countries.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Hester M. Peirce issued a statement<\/a> on May 29 suggesting a cross-border sandbox for crypto companies operating in the U.S. and U.K. Pierce noted that this is her personal view, not necessarily shared by the agency as a whole or other commissioners.<\/p>\n \u201cThe proposed cross-border sandbox would allow firms to conduct the same sandbox activities under the same regulatory requirements in both the United Kingdom and the United States,\u201d wrote Peirce. \u201cTogether with a Commission-enacted micro-innovation sandbox and an information sharing agreement between our two jurisdictions, the expanded eligibility would foster cross-border innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n Her letter is in response to a Digital Securities Sandbox<\/a> (DSS) that the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are trying to create \u2013 for which several consultation papers have been published.<\/p>\n Peirce\u2019s proposal is a lofty one, considering the SEC\u2019s continual attack on the crypto industry. And the U.K. has also been quick to shut down crypto services, and blanket sanction all sorts of activities related to the digital asset space.<\/p>\n That being said, her letter is cause for optimism.<\/p>\n It shows that even within a clearly aggressive SEC<\/a>, there are dissenting voices against the \u201cregulation by enforcement\u201d approach. In fact, Peirce and her fellow commissioner, Mark Uyeda, have already pushed back<\/a> against the agency\u2019s position on crypto.<\/p>\n Creating such a cross-border sandbox would be the first of its kind, which considering the size and influence of both U.S. and U.K. markets, could serve as an example to other regions.<\/p>\n The commissioner also revealed that she tends to be \u201cmore of a beach than a sandbox regulator\u201d and outlined a number of points that would be part of her micro-innovation sandbox. These include the requirements set forth by the SEC for firms to begin operating in the country, including allowing participants to choose their regulatory conditions, the duration and exit of a firm, and eligibility requirements.<\/p>\n