U.S. SEC Launches a ‘Strategic Hub’ to Address FinTech Innovation and ICOs

22. Oct 2018 Posted by Akolkar B on News

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the launch of a new strategic hub to increase engagement with businesses and individuals for innovation in the FinTech space.

Called as the FinHub, the goal of this new division is to to provide assistance and make it easy and simple for fintech startups and ICOs to navigate through legal issues. According to the press release, the FinHub will address a number of FinTech-related issues like blockchain and crypto assets, digital marketplace financing, automated investment advice, and artificial intelligence/machine learning.

As said earlier, the new division will have a FinTech forum to engage with public through different events and publications. The FinHub division will replace several internal groups at the SEC focusing on similar issues and will launch by 2019.

Valerie A. Szczepanik, Senior Advisor for Digital Assets and Innovation and Associate Director in the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance, will lead the SEC’s FinHub division. Other staff members accompanying Szczepanik will be SEC representatives having expertise and knowledge regarding fintech-related issues. 

"SEC staff across the agency have been engaged for some time in efforts to understand emerging technologies, communicate the agency's stance on new issues, and facilitate beneficial innovations in the securities industry," said Ms. Szczepanik. "By launching FinHub, we hope to provide a clear path for entrepreneurs, developers, and their advisers to engage with SEC staff, seek input, and test ideas.”

In addition, the FinHub will act as a platform and clearinghouse for the SEC staff to isseminate information and FinTech-related knowledge within the agency. Furthermore, it will also serve as a liaison to other domestic and international regulators while helping them out in matter related to emerging technologies regulatory, financial, and supervisory systems.

SEC Chairman Jay Clayton also expressed optimism on the launch of the FinHub division. "The SEC is committed to working with investors and market participants on new approaches to capital formation, market structure, and financial services, with an eye toward enhancing, and in no way reducing, investor protection," Clayton. "The FinHub provides a central point of focus for our efforts to monitor and engage on innovations in the securities markets that hold promise, but which also require a flexible, prompt regulatory response to execute our mission."

This is a good initiative by the SEC especially when the FinTech industry seems to be quite disoriented at the moment. The formation of the FinHub division will help legitimate blockchain and crypto businesses to efficiently launch their products and services while working in tandem with the regulators.