In a statement accompanying the new set of rules, Benjamin Lawsky, the Superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, stated that he had resisted pressure to "ban Bitcoin" (a view that he said was "Luddite"), and had instead attempted to develop regulations that would contribute to the "long-term health of the virtual currency industry."

The new rules are fairly significant in scope and thus, add to the expense of the compliance burden. They provide a significant…

The bill is a reflection of a widely (though not universally) shared view that the hasty rulemaking activities of the CFTC, after the passage of Dodd Frank, resulted in damage to the economy and poisoned relationships with financial regulators around the world. There is no doubt that the proposed amendments would make it more difficult for the CFTC to adopt rules, insofar as the amendments would subject the CFTC to the requirement of a demonstration that its rules could be justified…

The SEC's failure to adopt a final version of this rule was one of Senator Warren's motivations for issuing her letter that blasted SEC Chair White. 

Ironically, the economic analysis (linked below) illustrates the fruitlessness of the information that will be produced by the rule. Surely, financial regulators can find better uses for their time. Leaving aside the utter waste of regulatory resources involved, how much money will issuers spend to comply with a rule that is of no…

Wow! Or Whoa? Give it a read. Senator Warren's attack on Chair White is vicious, particularly given the fact some of the Senator's criticisms (for example, as to Chair White recusing herself) are easily rebutted. Even where Senator Warren could reasonably disagree with Chair White (for example, on the matter of whether accused parties should be required to plead guilty as a condition to settling a case), Chair White's position is likewise completely reasonable (i.e., the SEC must conserve…