Securities Law Helped Build Modern Capitalism. Crypto Should Embrace It

Securities are one of the most crucial components to the operation of our global economy.

Many types of securities have become heavily regulated over the last century.

I've been registered in the securities business in some form for 28 years now.

Rather than trying to avoid being a security, I figured the right choice for most companies would be to simply embrace being a security and focus on complying with regulations.

The first time I heard of the Securities and Exchange Commission was at about age seven when my stockbroker Mom came home and told us that the SEC, Federal Bureau of Investigation and police had arrested someone in her firm who broke the rules.

Coinbase's Crypto Ratings Council makes a case for why certain instruments are not securities, instead of doing the harder work to become licensed to deal in legal securities.

There are many technical and regulatory things we can do to improve how securities are issued and move, including beefing up the Reg CF exemption or adding another exemption for non-accredited investors, loosening ongoing reporting requirements for smaller public companies not traded on exchanges, reducing the burdens of anti-money laundering and know-your-customer requirements and other regulatory strategies could help.

On the technical side, there many projects promising robust potential improvements in the way securities move.

In an ideal situation, securities will move similarly to digital bearer assets like monero or bitcoin but with embedded, attached or second layer tools to cover identity and compliance needs.

There are many ways to improve securities but core to all efforts should be the recognition that securities' status is not something to be avoided but to be embraced.