Former SEC senior official John Reed Stark opposed regulatory reform at the crypto roundtable meeting

At the first cryptocurrency industry roundtable held by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), former SEC Cyber Enforcement Office Director John Reed Stark strongly opposed modifying existing securities regulations for digital assets. He stated that the Securities Act of 1933 and 1934 need not make way for cryptocurrencies, and digital assets should continue to be regarded as securities. "People who buy cryptocurrencies are not collectors, they are investors. The duty of the SEC is to protect investors," Stark said. He pointed out that crypto companies hire top global law firms in an attempt to delay enforcement processes, but have lost almost all cases. Stark also claimed that he has seen no real innovation in digital assets compared to past technological revolutions like the iPhone. For a long time, Stark has been a staunch critic of the crypto industry; he supports former SEC Chairman Gensler's "enforcement-style regulation" and insists that the crypto industry must comply with current laws rather than asking laws to make way for it.