Tesla dumps $1.5B into Bitcoin and bitcoin price jumps to $50K, Visa, Mastercard and PayPal say they are in, and BNY Mellon announces a crypto custody service. Now Securities and Exchange Commissioner indicates regulating crypto is urgent:
“According to Securities and Exchange Commissioner Hester Peirce, clear cryptocurrency regulation is urgently needed as major tech and financial companies adopt this new asset class.
According to a Feb. 13 Reuters report, Peirce—nicknamed ‘Crypto Mom’ for her early pro-crypto stances—said that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cannot continue to put off issuing clear regulations for digital assets now that major companies such as electric car manufacturer Tesla, payment processing giants MasterCard and Visa, and even the venerable BNY Mellon bank are starting to use them. She said:
‘That adds to the urgency of us taking some sort of action in this area to provide more clarity.’
Peirce pointed out that while ‘there have been calls for clarity for some time, a new administration brings the chance to take a fresh look, but it also is a moment where it seems others in the marketplace are also taking a fresh look.’ ”
Overview by Tim Sloane, VP, Payments Innovation at Mercator Advisory Group