On Tuesday, Chamber of Progress sent a letter urging SEC Chairman Gary Gensler to put forward clear cryptocurrency regulations following years of regulatory ambiguity, arbitrary enforcement, and legal threats from the SEC.

The letter marks the four-year anniversary of a speech by the SEC’s then-Director of Corporate Finance Bill Hinman, who commented that neither Bitcoin nor Ethereum could be considered securities. Without any official rulemaking from the SEC, crypto companies and innovators have been forced to rely on these off-the-cuff remarks for guidance.

Read Chamber of Progress’s full letter to the SEC here.

“Legal ambiguity has been the hallmark of the SEC’s crypto regulation since Hinman’s speech,” said Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich. “It is long past time for the SEC to heed the urgent requests of crypto innovators and holders, and start issuing proposed rules for crypto regulation on which the public can comment.”

Establishing an economically competitive digital asset framework is imperative for securing the United States as the global leader in digital asset governance. The anticipated growth in the adoption of digital assets by Americans will continue to increase the demand for blockchain business solutions and hiring. The 2022 global blockchain market is valued at roughly $7 billion, and research suggests the global blockchain market will grow to over $163 billion by 2029.

While regulatory movement at the SEC has been absent, a bipartisan group of Senators this month introduced legislation to create a new legal framework for the regulation of cryptocurrency, showing an appetite among elected officials for updating public policy. Earlier in the year, President Biden released a cryptocurrency executive order, directing policymakers to ensure that our nation’s crypto regulations promote competition, protect consumers, and support our workforce.

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Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future. We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.

Our corporate partners do not have a vote on or veto over our positions. We do not speak for individual partner companies and remain true to our stated principles even when our partners disagree.