Analysis: By Whom Should Digital Assets Be Regulated? The Solomonic Solution
Commentary by Steven Lofchie
Are tomatoes a fruit or a vegetable? The current debate over digital assets appears to limit the discussion to such a question. Are digital assets fruits or vegetables (securities or commodities)? Are they money (stablecoins) or something else, like art (NFTs)? Are these the right questions? Perhaps the inquiry should not be over the categorization of digital assets, but how best to regulate them.
See the linked memorandum to read more.
Commentary
Ultimately, it does not matter so much whether digital assets are fruits or vegetables within the jurisdiction of the SEC or the CFTC. It is more important that quarrels over jurisdiction do not derail the development and implementation of a reasonable regulatory scheme. As to the job of developing a workable regulatory scheme, either regulator may accomplish it. If we allow each regulator the freedom to devise a workable regulatory scheme, there is some greater chance that at least one of them will succeed. Best case, both.