Former SEC official John Reed Stark opposes regulatory reform at crypto roundtable

Odaily News At the first crypto industry roundtable held by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), John Reed Stark, former director of the SEC's Office of Cyber Enforcement, strongly opposed amending existing securities regulations for digital assets. He said that the Securities Act of 1933 and 1934 does not need to make concessions for cryptocurrencies, and digital assets should continue to be considered securities. "People who buy cryptocurrencies are not collectors, they are investors. The SEC's job is to protect investors," Stark said. He pointed out that crypto companies hired top global law firms to try to delay the enforcement process, but lost in almost all cases. Stark also claimed that he did not see any real innovation in digital assets compared to past technological revolutions such as the iPhone. Stark has long been a staunch critic of the crypto industry. He supports former SEC Chairman Gensler's "enforcement-style regulation" and insists that the crypto industry must comply with existing laws rather than asking the law to make way for it.