SEC to Discuss Blockchain Tech in Public Fintech Forum

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published on Thursday the agenda and panelists for its upcoming Fintech forum. 

Also read: Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange Launches Blockchain Voting Services

The forum will discuss fintech innovations, including blockchain technology. Valerie Szczepanik, Head of the SEC Distributed Ledger Technology Working Group, will be one of the four moderators at the event. She is also the Assistant Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.

SEC Public Fintech Forum

The SEC first announced its Fintech Forum in September. The event will take place on November 14 at the Commission’s headquarters in Washington D.C. Additionally, it will be open to the public and webcast live on the SEC’s website.

No registration is required to attend the event. The agency’s website states “The forum is designed to foster greater collaboration and understanding among regulators, entrepreneurs and industry experts into Fintech innovation and evaluate how the current regulatory environment can most effectively address these new technologies.”

The forum will also have four panels. The first will examine the impact of recent innovation in investment advisory services. The second will discuss how recent innovations impact trading, settlements, and clearance activities, with Szczepanik herself moderating. The third panel will focus on capital formation and the final panel on protecting investors in the Fintech era.

SEC Monitoring Blockchain Tech

The agency has been keeping an eye on blockchain technology development. In a March keynote speech in Silicon Valley, SEC Chair Mary Jo White said blockchain is one of the three digital finance developments impacting the securities industry. She noted:

“Blockchain technology has the potential to modernize, simplify, or even potentially replace, current trading and clearing and settlement operations.”

White also revealed the Commission is “closely monitoring the proliferation of this technology and already addressing it in certain contexts.”

She explained that one area which the SEC is actively examining is whether blockchain applications require registration under existing Commission regulatory regimes, similar to requirements for transfer agents or clearing agencies.

“We have a keen interest in ensuring that all of the applicable rules and regulations are followed,” White said. In addition, the agency will “provide the appropriate regulatory oversight to protect investors,” she concluded her speech.

Will you attend the SEC Fintech Forum? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of the SEC, WSJ, Shutterstock

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