It has long been an issue that there is not much specialized knowledge related to crypto present within any of the largest regulatory organizations. Now it seems that the SEC is doing something about this by looking for someone to come work with them in building the best possible cryptocurrency regulations.
A job listing was posted on the official government job portal, USA Jobs, on March 29th, and details a position centred around creating a comprehensive plan for digital asset and crypto securities.
If said new hire were able to maintain expert-level cryptocurrency and blockchain knowledge while applying it to federal securities law, it could be a match made in heaven. Much of the friction against regulators has surfaced based on what is perceived to be a poor understanding of the issues. This is perhaps why so many in the industry constantly push the idea of self-regulation.
What this Position Would Mean
One potential problem in this plan is the idea that someone would both possess a JD or Bachelors of Laws, and be able to understand crypto to a deep degree. Many would actually say these two qualifications are almost exclusive, as they do tend to attract two very different subsets of people. However, with a salary between $145k and $239k per year, it could well prove to be an amazing opportunity for someone.
Clarity over how current securities laws apply to blockchain-based tokens has long been in demand. Bitcoin and Ethereum have both received soft rulings from the SEC, but this only helps to further the debates relating to other more controversial coins like Ripple.
With the SEC and other regulators subpoenaing account information from many cryptocurrency exchanges, it is easy to see that they are upping their game and intend to move forward with a comprehensive form of regulation on the whole sector. Crypto has been a “Wild West” of sorts until now, and even though that makes for great tax savings, it holds back crypto from achieving some form of widespread adoptions.
Tax Season Brings Confusion
Another aspect of the problem is that it is not easy to follow the current regulations. Clear decisions have not been published and for the casual investor, staying up to date is not possible. Usually this only becomes a problem around this time of year when taxes are due.
The combination of laws surrounded capital losses, donations, crypto-to-crypto trading, and foreign accounts is no simple thing to understand. For example, FBAR (foreign bank account regulations) requires investors to disclose if they have $10,000 or more in a foreign bank account. The penalties are steep ($100k+) and with volatile assets like Bitcoin, it is completely possible for users to forget what they own.
All of this is the culmination of what happens when the banks aren’t collecting fees for managing custody and other ancillary services. Crypto enthusiasts can bemoan the “intermediaries” and their rent-seeking, but one thing is for sure: rent-seekers were effective at keeping their customers on the right side of fines, and the law.