A U.S. policymaker’s visit to Brussels could be key to unlocking access to an estimated $2 trillion market in digital securities for Swiss crypto companies.
Switzerland’s digital asset industry is hoping to get a taste of what future U.S. policy will look like when Gary Gensler, chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, meets with the European Parliament on Wednesday.
Home to Tezos, Ethereum, Cardano and a host of other cryptocurrencies, Switzerland already enjoys a well established regulatory framework for its digital asset industry.
By contrast, U.S. blockchain companies are in the dark about how they will be treated by regulators down the road as the SEC has been slow to create a regulatory roadmap for the industry.
Trillion-Dollar Market
With the cryptocurrency market estimated at $2 trillion, Gensler might have to speed up decision making at the SEC.
Progress in the U.S.' digital asset regulation would benefit Switzerland’s cryptocurrency companies, as it would give them access to a larger market, according to Zurich-based lawyer Tina Balzli at CMS who is specialized in fintech and blockchain.
«We’ve built a Ferrari in terms of regulation of digital assets and road infrastructure, but what’s missing is the connector,» Balzli says.
Unclear U.S. Path
Cracking this cross-border connection is complicated by differing views within the SEC itself: «The hope in Europe is that Gary Gensler draws a map of the whole process and direction the U.S. plans to go in,» Balzli notes.
On Wednesday, Gensler acknowledged how borderless token markets are. Ahead of his meeting in Brussels, Gensler told the «Financial Times» (behind paywall) that investor protection on cryptocurrency trading platforms was »really sparse.» He also warned that their future survival depended on them collaborating with authorities.
