Valerie Szczepanik, a senior consultant of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the field of digital assets, said that the existing securities laws may be applied to some specific stablecoins, Decrypt reported on March 16.
According to Szczepanik's classifications, some types of stablecoins are linked to real assets (gold or real estate), others to fiat money, and others use various market mechanisms that support price stability. According to her, this third category should attract the attention of the regulator:
"I’ve seen stablecoins that purport to control price through some kind of pricing mechanism, whether it’s tied to the issuance, creation or redemption of another type of digital asset tied to it, or whether it is controlled through supply and demand."
Szczepanik has stressed that when there is a central party controlling the volatility of the stablecoin's price, or if the stablecoin promises the buyer a guaranteed income or a controlled price, this type of asset could be considered as a value.
She also said that the SEC would have to analyze the particular facts and circumstances of each crypto project. At the same time, Szczepanik reminded companies that they should contact the agency for advice before launching a token, not afterwards:
"We would prefer people to contact us for approval or advice before doing anything, rather than asking for forgiveness later."
Why it is important
- The legal status of stablecoins has been discussed by regulators for a long time. Now, the SEC advises those startups that want to launch their own stablecoin to ask them for permission and advice before launching the token, which would save a lot of problems and work on both sides.
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