New York-based Nasdaq Inventory Change has determined to delay the launch of its crypto custody service as a result of unsure regulatory atmosphere within the U.S.
Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman, through the firm’s quarterly earnings call on Jul. 19, 2023, stated:
“Contemplating the shifting enterprise and regulatory atmosphere within the U.S., we’ve made the choice to halt our launch of the U.S. digital belongings custodian enterprise.”
In response to Friedman, the alternate stays dedicated to the digital belongings business however is not going to pursue a related operational license till there’s extra readability. She added that Nasdaq will proceed creating options for the business within the meantime.
Friedman additionally clarified that the choice to delay the launch of the custody service is unrelated to the continued course of for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, which can be supported by the alternate.
Friedman stated:
“We stay dedicated to supporting the evolution of the digital asset ecosystem in a wide range of methods, amongst them by our ongoing engagement with regulators, the supply of complete know-how options throughout the commerce lifecycle and thru our partnerships with potential ETF issuers to assist tradable alternate listed merchandise.”
Nasdaq is appearing as BlackRock’s accomplice for the latter’s spot Bitcoin ETF.
Shifting regulatory atmosphere
The alternate first introduced plans for a digital belongings custody enterprise in Nov. 2022, and the service was set to launch by the tip of the second quarter earlier than the choice in March 2023 to delay the launch.
Nonetheless, the following weeks since then have seen the U.S. regulatory panorama deteriorate and turn into extra complicated to navigate because the SEC ramped up enforcement in opposition to the crypto business with authorized complaints in opposition to Coinbase and Binance.US.
The SEC has adopted a tough stance that almost all cryptocurrencies are securities and is utilizing this as a key prong in its enforcement technique. Nonetheless, the problem has but to be decided with finality by lawmakers which has turn into the central ache level in lots of the authorized circumstances with crypto corporations.
Many cryptocurrency corporations have determined to deal with development exterior the U.S. till lawmakers and regulators can set up extra certainty for the business.
In the meantime, there’s some optimism for the business within the U.S., as Congress is about to vote on crypt-related laws this week. The result could possibly be a vital step in clarifying the regulatory panorama for the business.
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