U.S. financial markets have long been burdened with a patchwork of outdated, overly complex, paternalistic rules. Meanwhile, the government’s failure to establish a regulatory regime for digital assets, coupled with its aggressive persecution of the industry, has stifled innovation. Unsurprisingly, the rest of the world surged ahead, leaving the U.S. behind.STORY CONTINUES BELOWDon’t miss another story.Subscribe to the The Node Newsletter today.See all newslettersBy signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to ourterms of useandprivacy policy.Now, under President Trump’s leadership, we stand on the brink of a historic shift. His “largest deregulation campaign in history” and “revolution of common sense,” offers us a rare chance to remove artificial boundaries, retire antiquated philosophies, and rethink our approach to regulating financial markets and digital asset ecosystems. Instead of creating and being bound by reactive regulations designed for past crises and technologies, we can design flexible, forward-looking frameworks that promote innovation.As I envision these frameworks, I’m reminded of wisdom shared by Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt (2001-2003), a lion of the securities bar, who proposed a simple yet profound solution to improve U.S. equity markets: develop guiding principles for our markets to embody. Chairman Pitt likened these to God’s Ten Commandments — clear principles to govern conduct with the industry tasked to meet them.Too often, regulators and market participants get bogged down in the minutiae of prescriptive laws and miss their core intent. While norms, standards and rules have their place, the “ten commandments” proposed here provide a strong foundation for future frameworks. The key is to first understand the purpose of the federal securities laws.At their core, these laws govern transactions involving securities — whether shares of a company, loan promises, or investment stakes. When people entrust you with their money, you owe them specific duties. The securities laws are primarily a disclosure regime designed to ensure fair and transparent exchanges that give investors the information they need to assess the risks and rewards of their investments.Read more: Trump Said to Consider Crypto Lawyer Teresa Goody Guillén to Lead SECThese laws emerged after the 1929 stock market crash, which was fueled by unethical practices such as insider trading and stock manipulation, and exacerbated by information asymmetry between buyers and sellers of securities. The Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 were enacted to prevent these abuses and to facilitate companies obtain capital, protect investors who invest their capital, and ensure markets are fair and efficient, while minimizing burdens on honest business activities.Despite good intentions, these laws have become overly complex, stifling competition and limiting investor
Mar. Feb 4th, 2025
