Regulation
NYSE Would Consider Cryptocurrency Trading If Regulatory Situation Were Clearer, Chairman Says at Consensus 2024
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NYSE President Lynn Martin is open to offering cryptocurrency trading, but the lack of clear regulatory guidelines is a barrier, she says.
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The U.S. regulatory environment will improve over the next two years regardless of the election outcome, predicted Tom Farley, CEO of Bullish and Martin’s predecessor at the NYSE.
AUSTIN, Texas — The New York Stock Exchange would consider offering cryptocurrency trading if the regulatory status of such an expansion by the stock giant was clearer, the company’s president said.
“If there were clear regulatory guidelines [in the U.S.]that would be an opportunity to look at,” Lynn Martin said Wednesday during a panel discussion at Consensus 2024 in Austin, Texas.
US-listed Bitcoin {{BTC}} exchange-traded funds (ETFs), amassing $58 billion in assets, are “a strong sign” that there is demand for regulated crypto products, he said. -she adds.
While traditional financial markets and digital assets are increasingly intertwined with more traditional financial heavyweights offering crypto products, a lack of regulatory clarity still weighs on the sector, slowing innovation, Martin and Tom Farley, CEO of crypto exchange Bullish, during the panel. discussion. (Bullish is the parent company of CoinDesk. Farley previously held Martin’s position at the NYSE.)
Learn more: NYSE plans Bitcoin options, bringing another TradFi giant into crypto
“The fact that approximately $58 billion has been invested in ETFs is a strong sign that the market is seeking regulation of traditional structures,” Martin said. “So I hope that the [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission] “I saw the inflows and said, ‘Hey, this makes a lot of sense,’ given that Bitcoin ETFs have been a huge success.”
The NYSE’s American rival, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), a giant in regulated crypto futures trading, plans to launch spot crypto trading for clients, the Financial Times reported earlier this month.
Farley highlighted the sudden U.S. policy shift toward crypto, including the ouster of the anti-crypto chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), the passage of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) bill. in the House, and Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump doubled down on his support for crypto in a rapid chain of events.
“Five years of evolution happened in five minutes,” he said. “I’m really optimistic about what that means in this country. I think, just like in Europe, just like in Hong Kong, the regulators are going to codify, ‘Hey, what does your reasonable digital asset industry look like.’ “
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“You’ll see progression in 2024 and 2025, whether it’s Trump, Biden or Michelle Obama.” [will be president],” he added.
Martin said she remains optimistic about using blockchain technology to make financial processes more efficient and transparent, particularly for less liquid assets such as municipal bonds.
However, Farley said traditional real-world assets will not migrate en masse to digital asset rails, given regulators’ distrust of blockchain’s public plumbing. “Regulators want to put their sticky, power-hungry little fingers in everything,” he said. “How do you get your hands on Solana? How do you get your hands on something decentralized?”
Therefore, regulators would likely push TradFi companies to develop private blockchains instead of using existing blockchains for settlement, he said.