Odaily News Katherine Dowling, chief compliance officer at Bitwise, said that January marked the end of SAB 121, ushered in Trump's cryptocurrency executive order, and witnessed the establishment of a new SEC working group. Coupled with the surge in cryptocurrency ETF applications, now is a good time to communicate with insiders.
Now, she noted, signals of increased SEC-CFTC cooperation are one of the biggest changes from the Gensler era. According to Bitwise’s conversations with the SEC, the cryptocurrency working group seems “very sincere.” The current SEC chairman nominee, Paul Atkins, has not yet been confirmed, with Mark Uyeda serving as acting chairman. That said, Dowling called the SEC “in purgatory,” with the agency seemingly waiting for “high-level direction” on how to handle litigation, including the case against Ripple.
"It doesn't go away overnight, and it shouldn't go away, but when you have new leadership, there's a new perspective," Dowling said. "Are we looking at the right things in this particular case? Is there a reconciliation position where both parties can get the outcome they want?"
She noted that some assets are still "trapped like dolphins in a fishing net." She was referring to assets that are clearly classified as securities, which include SOL and XRP. The SEC will have to make some "concessions" in this regard in order for these ETF proposals to move forward. She hinted that the DOGE ETF may have a clearer path because the SEC has not yet labeled DOGE a security.
Furthermore, beyond the litigation/securities uncertainty, there is also the question of whether the SEC will require the existence of “a regulated market of substantial size” (historically futures traded via CME). (Blockworks)