Warner Norcross + Judd LLP Partner Brian D. Wassom discussed Michigan’s cryptocurrency regulatory environment in the Crain’s Detroit Business article “Wild, Wild West. State Lawmakers Explore Regulating Cryptocurrency.”
Michigan Senate Bill 888 proposes legislation to create a “Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Commission” to bring together an array of business and government leaders to explore regulations for the volatile financial technologies.
Wassom said in the article that the trend for state governments has been to focus on more simple items such as defining a blockchain transaction, while leaving the “thorny issues,” such as whether crypto should be treated as a security, up to eventual guidance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
"I think we don't make real progress until we have some sort of national uniformity," Wassom told Crain's. "And the SEC has certainly been looking at these issues. I would expect to get SEC guidance on some of these bigger picture issues before long, like within the next couple years."
Wassom, who serves as chair of Warner’s Emerging Media and Technologies Industry Group, said that his clients prefer certainty which regulations can help provide.
"The people I talk to and advise who are considering ventures in (the crypto) space, they would love to see more certainty and more … options for enforcing their rights when things go sour," he said.
Crain’s Detroit Business subscribers can read the full article here.
