Subscribe
February 16, 2026
Sign In

Capitalizations Index – B ∞/21M

Menu
Breaking
Understanding Bitcoin Forks: When Blockchains Split What Happens When All Bitcoins Are Mined: Miners’ New Income Bitcoin’s Mempool: Temporary Storage for Unconfirmed Transactions Bitcoin: Understanding Its Role as Digital Gold in Finance Is Bitcoin a Good Investment? Assessing Risks and Rewards

SEC Commissioner Suggests Excessive Crypto Regulation Hurts Growth

Sec commissioner suggests excessive crypto regulation hurts growth

SEC Commissioner Suggests Excessive Crypto Regulation Hurts Growth

Sec commissioner suggests excessive crypto regulation hurts growth

A commissioner at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said that the official regulation of cryptocurrencies could actually stunt the technology’s development. Hester Peirce’s comments come at a time when the SEC has been accused of acting contrarily and gives hope to those wanting governments to take a step back to prevent over-regulation

Also read: Analysis: Understanding the SEC’s Stance on Crypto 

Allowing the Technology to Come Into Its Own

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioner Hester Peirce was speaking at the University of Missouri School of Law on Feb. 8 when she hinted that government regulation could actually cause the crypto industry difficulties. The lawyer, who has been nicknamed the “Crypto Mom” for her generally positive comments towards cryptocurrencies, said that it may be a better idea for regulators to step back and allow blockchain projects to mature, and that hastily drawn up regulations could harm the industry:

We might be able to draw clearer lines once we see more blockchain projects mature. Delay in drawing clear lines may actually allow more freedom for the technology to come into its own.

Peirce said that she would keep an eye on ensuring no laws harm crypto projects, citing stablecoin Basis, which is shutting down and returning its $133 million in capital to investors due to the difficulty of complying with securities regulations. “I am not going to comment on what I think about the merits of any particular project or how the securities laws apply to it, but my antennae will go up when apparently legitimate projects cannot proceed because our securities laws make them unworkable,” she said.
Sec commissioner suggests excessive crypto regulation hurts growth

Peirce further added that the SEC could at times be overly negative towards cryptocurrencies, and that this is something that needs to change: “We rightfully fault investors for jumping blindly at anything labeled crypto, but at times we seem to be equally impulsive in running away from anything labeled crypto. We owe it to investors to be careful, but we also owe it to them not to define their investment universe with our preferences.”

Diverse Perspectives Needed

Peirce’s comments come at a time when the SEC’s views on cryptocurrencies haven’t been wholly clear. Last year the SEC rightly took enforcement action against initial coin offerings and other crypto companies perpetrating fraud. But, as Peirce noted, this doesn’t mean regulators and government agencies should be automatically skeptical about everything to emanate from the cryptocurrency sector.

As Angela Walch, a professor of law at St. Mary’s University School of Law and a research fellow at the Centre for Blockchain Technologies at University College London previously said, it is important for regulators to have a “diverse perspective,” as all too often they can be overly focused on protecting the financial system and indifferent to innovation and the benefits cryptocurrencies could bring.

What do you think about Hester Peirce’s comments and the SEC’s stance on crypto? Let us know in the comments section below.

Image credits: Shutterstock. 

Express yourself freely at bitcoin.com’s user forums. We don’t censor on political grounds. Check forum.bitcoin.com

Tags in this story

Sec commissioner suggests excessive crypto regulation hurts growth
Mathew Di Salvo

A former agency reporter and local news hack, Mathew was thrilled to learn about crypto when he found out it could help him move money abroad – and not get ripped off by banks. He writes for bitcoin.com with a particular focus on banking the unbanked, privacy coins and Latin America.

Published at Tue, 12 Feb 2019 09:35:56 +0000

Previous Article

Tokyo Whale Caused Bitcoin Crash 📉 Mt Gox Is Back! He Has More $BTC Too! Another Crash Soon?

 Next Article

Should You Be Borrowing From Your 401k? Pros And Cons

You might be interested in …

North Korea Trying to Hack Bitcoin Exchanges

In a desperate bid for financial resources, North Korea and Kim Jong-un are unleashing hackers against bitcoin exchanges.

The continuing rise in bitcoin value has had a lot of positive effects. People have made a lot of money on the cryptocurrency’s rise, and the accompanying headlines have brought more people into the crypto world. However, there is a downside to bitcoin skyrocketing in value, which is having unsavory characters trying to get their hands on it through illegal means. One of the more notable black hats in this regard is Kim Jong-un and North Korea, who security experts say are targeting Bitcoin exchanges due to the digital currency’s increased demand.

Targeting bitcoin

North Korea used to focus their cyber espionage on traditional state activities. That all began to change in 2016, when the cyber security company FireEye began to note that North Korea began to target banks and the global financial system. 2017 has seen several attacks against South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges, and this activity has since spread to banking groups in Europe and South Korea, bitcoin exchanges, and even an ATM company.

Independent security expert Ashley Shen notes:

We assume one of the reasons why bitcoin is being attacked is because the price keeps increasing and we think it’s reasonable for hackers (to target). Digital currency might be easier to gain than physical currency. So I think it’s reasonable.

Security experts have followed attacks by various hacking groups, such as Andariel, Lazarus, and Bluenoroff, and these groups are suspected to be front groups for North Korea.

Shen adds:

Before when we tracked nation-state attackers, they usually perform cyber attacks which are aimed at confidential data and intelligence. However recently we’ve discovered that some of the APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) groups are trying to hack financial institutions like banks and bitcoin exchanges to gain financial profit.

North Korea Needs Money

While North Korea always seems to be up to some mischief, these ongoing attacks against bitcoin exchanges is likely a sign of desperation. The country has been isolated due to crippling sanctions, and those sanctions were recently further enhanced by the Trump administration.

In late November, the US government targeted 13 companies, 20 vessels, and 1 individual for engaging in trade with North Korea, At that time, US Treasure Secretary Steven Mnuchin stated:

As North Korea continues to threaten international peace and security, we are steadfast in our determination to maximize economic pressure to isolate it from outside sources of trade and revenue while exposing its evasive tactics.

Overall, the already meager North Korean economy has been crippled by economic sanctions. So it comes as no surprise that they wish to hack into bitcoin exchanges in an effort to steal bitcoins as the cryptocurrency surges in value. Ashley Shen believes that such attacks are not going away any time soon, saying:

My own opinion is they will probably keep doing the Bitcoins because the price keeps increasing and it’s a good investment… So I assume they will do more bitcoin attacks and of course they will keep targeting banks because that’s what they did before.

Are you worried about North Korea hacking into bitcoin exchanges? Let us know in the comments below.

Images courtesy of Pixabay and Bitcoinist archives.

The post North Korea Trying to Hack Bitcoin Exchanges appeared first on Bitcoinist.com.

Close Menu