加密產業希望川普獲勝並取消 SEC

加密貨幣產業希望即將到來的美國總統選舉將讓一位在執法方面採取更溫和態度的人入主白宮

The cryptocurrency industry is hoping the upcoming U.S. presidential election will put someone in the White House who has a softer approach on enforcement.

加密貨幣產業希望即將到來的美國總統選舉將讓一位在執法方面採取更溫和態度的人入主白宮。

Former President Donald Trump has lately cozied up to the $2.5 trillion crypto industry, even inviting supporters to a Bitcoin-focused fundraiser on July 27. Although the Republican nominee criticized cryptocurrencies while in office, his recent comments have been more favorable — and lawyers expect that, if he wins, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will stop pursuing the digital-asset space so aggressively.

前總統川普最近向價值2.5 兆美元的加密貨幣行業示好，甚至邀請支持者參加7 月27 日舉行的以比特幣為重點的籌款活動。期間批評了加密貨幣，但他最近的評論更為有利——律師預計，如果他獲勝，美國證券交易委員會將停止如此積極地追求數位資產領域。

“A Trump administration would likely seek to reset and rethink the SEC’s crypto regulatory policy,” said Michael Selig, partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. “Such a reset would naturally involve resolving ongoing enforcement actions and investigations brought by the prior administration.”

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP 合夥人 Michael Selig 表示：“川普政府可能會尋求重置和重新考慮 SEC 的加密貨幣監管政策。” “這樣的重置自然會涉及解決前政府正在進行的執法行動和調查。”

Under President Joe Biden, the SEC has ramped up its pursuit of the industry, especially after the collapse of crypto exchange FTX in 2022. The regulator has brought dozens of enforcement cases, often accusing exchanges and broker-dealers of not properly registering under securities law.

在拜登總統的領導下，美國證券交易委員會加強了對該行業的追查力度，尤其是在2022 年加密貨幣交易所FTX 倒閉之後。交易所和經紀自營商未根據證券法正確註冊。

SEC Chair Gary Gensler maintains that most cryptocurrencies are securities and should therefore register with the agency. Many crypto companies either argue that their tokens are not securities or say the registration requirements are unclear.

SEC 主席 Gary Gensler 認為，大多數加密貨幣都是證券，因此應該在該機構註冊。許多加密貨幣公司要么辯稱他們的代幣不是證券，要么表示註冊要求不明確。

The SEC has settled some matters, but litigation involving firms including Kraken, Coinbase and Binance are still tied up in court. The SEC has also closed some of its investigations including one into Ethereum and another regarding BUSD, a Binance-branded cryptocurrency issued by New York-headquartered Paxos.

SEC 已經解決了一些問題，但涉及 Kraken、Coinbase 和 Binance 等公司的訴訟仍懸而未決。美國證券交易委員會也結束了部分調查，包括一項針對以太坊的調查，另一項針對 BUSD 的調查，BUSD 是總部位於紐約的 Paxos 發行的幣安品牌加密貨幣。

The varied outcomes have left open the question of whether tokens are, or are not, securities. The SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs Inc and its executives could help put the matter to rest.

不同的結果留下了代幣是否為證券的問題。美國證券交易委員會對 Ripple Labs Inc 及其高層提起的訴訟可能有助於平息此事。

The SEC alleged that Ripple conducted an unregistered securities offering through the sale of XRP tokens, raising over $1.3 billion. In what many saw as a setback for the SEC, a federal judge ruled last July that sales of XRP to retail investors on exchanges did not amount to investment contracts.

SEC 指控 Ripple 透過銷售 XRP 代幣進行了未經註冊的證券發行，籌集了超過 13 億美元。去年 7 月，一名聯邦法官裁定，在交易所向散戶投資者出售 XRP 並不構成投資合同，許多人認為這對 SEC 來說是一個挫折。

Ripple Chief Executive Officer Brad Garlinghouse predicted a resolution “very soon” in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Wednesday.

Ripple 執行長 Brad Garlinghouse 在周三接受彭博電視台採訪時預測，「很快」就會有解決方案。

The SEC filed that lawsuit in 2020 while Trump was still in office, and he has not offered specific details about his views on crypto regulation. But several lawyers and executives within the industry said they expect less enforcement activity if he gets elected again.

美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 於 2020 年川普仍在任期間提起了該訴訟，而川普尚未提供有關其對加密貨幣監管觀點的具體細節。但業內的幾位律師和高層表示，如果他再次當選，他們預計執法活動將會減少。

“Remember, if Trump gets elected, the Republicans can immediately change who the chair is,” said Austin Campbell, a blockchain consultant and adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. “What this means in practical terms is that many of these cases — which have been shotgunned out at highly variable degrees of quality and generating highly variable decisions that are increasing confusion — could all be settled instead of having to go forward.”

「請記住，如果川普當選，共和黨可以立即改變主席人選，」哥倫比亞商學院區塊鏈顧問兼兼職教授奧斯汀坎貝爾說。 「這實際上意味著，許多此類案件——它們的品質水平參差不齊，並產生了高度可變的決策，從而加劇了混亂——都可以得到解決，而不必繼續推進。”

Of course, it is not certain that Trump will win the election, or what his actual policy stance will be. He has been leading in recent polls amid speculation that Biden may step aside to let another Democrat replace him on the ballot. Whether that will happen, who it would be or how a different candidate would fare against Trump is unclear.

當然，川普是否會贏得選舉以及他的實際政策立場是什麼還不確定。他在最近的民調中一直領先，外界猜測拜登可能會下台，讓另一位民主黨人在選票上取代他。這種情況是否會發生，具體是誰，或者不同的候選人將如何對抗川普，目前尚不清楚。

And, some experts do not predict the SEC will drop or settle ongoing litigation, even if Trump were to win.

而且，一些專家預計，即使川普獲勝，美國證券交易委員會也不會放棄或解決正在進行的訴訟。

Securities enforcement cases are typically “apolitical” and there’s little staff turnover resulting from political changes, said Emily Meyers, general counsel at venture capital firm Electric Capital.

創投公司 Electric Capital 的總法律顧問艾米麗·邁耶斯 (Emily Meyers) 表示，證券執法案件通常是“非政治性的”，政治變化導致的員工流失很少。

“It’s unlikely that any ongoing cases get dropped, especially those that are already being argued in federal court,” Meyers said. “It’s more likely that a new administration, or even a second Biden administration, brings fewer or different types of new crypto enforcement cases.”

「任何正在進行的案件都不太可能被撤銷，尤其是那些已經在聯邦法院審理的案件，」邁耶斯說。 “新政府，甚至第二屆拜登政府更有可能帶來更少或不同類型的新加密執法案件。”

Ji Kim, chief legal and policy officer at lobbying group Crypto Council for Innovation, took a similar view.

遊說團體加密創新委員會首席法律與政策長 Ji Kim 也持類似觀點。

“If President Trump were reelected and Chair Gensler steps down, we could see the current regulation-by-enforcement norm change,” he said. “However, that would depend on the leadership and the make-up of the commissioners — nothing is guaranteed.”

「如果川普總統連任，詹斯勒主席下台，我們可能會看到當前的監管執法規範發生變化，」他說。 “然而，這將取決於委員會的領導和組成——沒有什麼是可以保證的。”