Davis Polk partner and Financial Institutions head Margaret Tahyar was quoted in Global Banking Regulation Review on the outlook of 2023 cryptocurrency regulation. Discussing which agency has the authority to regulate crypto, Margaret said, “We’re ending up having this argument, which is a peculiarly American argument: is that the SEC or the CFTC?”

Pointing out that there is ambiguity inherent in crypto-assets, such as whether they are securities or commodities, she said, “Whatever it is, we regulate all of those things. It’s a whole new thing, which needs a regulatory perimeter and needs supervision, and by not doing anything, I don’t think we’ll make it go away.”

“It’s a kind of a triple whammy,” she continued. “You’ve got to have bipartisan consensus, you’ve got to come out with the right kind of policy, and you’ve got a lot of regulatory turf battles.”

Margaret noted that the major crypto firms lobby for, and have had a wide influence on, overall digital assets regulations and policy proposals. “And so that’s why I think a targeted stablecoin regulation is more likely,” she said.

“What’s in store for 2023? Part one: crypto,” Global Banking Regulation Review (January 9, 2023) (subscription required)

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