Crypto in the Crosshairs: Are Digital Assets Securities or Commodities?

Crypto in the Crosshairs: Are Digital Assets Securities or Commodities?

Crypto is taking congress by storm and every authority from the SEC, NYAG and CFTC is weighing in on their regulatory oversight over Bitcoin, Ethereum and everything in between. 

In this episode,  Ian Andrews (Chief Marketing Officer, Chainalysis) sat down with Michael Selig (Counsel, Asset Management at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP) to help demystify the ever-changing landscape of USA regulations and cryptocurrency.

Mike and Ian delve into the latest developments, enforcement actions, and challenges facing the crypto industry and anticipate the impact of proposed custody rules and securities implications could have on the crypto ecosystem. They even try to hypothesize what regulations on decentralized protocols could look like. 

Minute-by-minute episode breakdown

• (2:35) – Mike’s origin story and first interaction with Bitcoin before going to law school
• (5:35) – Why is the question of whether cryptocurrency is a security or not still unanswered?
• (12:25) – Does the NYAG have a strong case saying that Ether is a security?
• (20:00) – Nothing starts decentralized and what does that mean for regulatory enforcements
• (26:30) – What would happen if most cryptocurrencies were deemed commodities?
• (30:55) – How recent enforcement actions might shape the way crypto staking is offered in the USA
• (36:25) – How the proposed SEC revisions to the Custody Rule could impact crypto
• (40:05) – Where does DeFi fit into regulatory oversight in the USA

Related resources

Check out more resources provided by Chainalysis that perfectly complement this episode of the Public Key.

• Report: The Chainalysis 2023 Crypto Crime Report
• Conference: Chainalysis Links Conference 2023 in New York City
• Website: Willkie: Providing leading edge legal solutions
• Article: Coindesk: What If Regulators Wrote Rules for Crypto?
• Article: Coindesk: 2023: The Year of Regulation vs. Decentralization
• Chainalysis Blog: Here’s What On-Chain Data Tells Us About Crypto’s Reaction to the Demise of Silicon Valley Bank And USDC’s Depegging
• Twitter: Chainalysis Twitter: Building trust in blockchains
• TikTok: Newly launched Chainalysis Tik Tok page
• YouTube: Chainalysis YouTube page is completely revamped
• Website: Chainalysis: We are paving the way for a global economy built on blockchains.

Speakers on today’s episode

• Ian Andrews * Host * (Chief Marketing Officer, Chainalysis) 
• Michael Selig (Counsel, Asset Management, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP)

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