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SEC crypto rules advance, but Hougan says institutions still face many steps
The SEC’s Aug. 18 Regulation Crypto Assets proposal includes exemptions reaching up to $75 million over 12 months, but Hougan argues Wall Street adoption depends on layered approvals beyond a single headline act.
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan told CryptoSlate that Washington’s recent shift toward crypto-friendly policy will not instantly unlock broad Wall Street participation. In his view, the key hurdle is not one landmark bill, but a long sequence of smaller, largely technical steps. Hougan pointed to the SEC’s Regulation Crypto Assets proposal unveiled Aug. 18, which it framed as a fit-for-purpose framework for certain crypto investment contracts. He noted the proposal includes exemptions reaching up to $75 million over a 12-month period. He said the week also included other regulatory and standard-setting developments, including a Trump administration push at a White House crypto event. Hougan highlighted statements about CFTC Chair Mike Selig’s work related to bringing Hyperliquid into the U.S. in a fully compliant, legal way, as well as a Financial Accounting Standards Board project that could clarify whether certain stablecoins qualify as cash equivalents. Hougan compared the moment to the rollout of spot Bitcoin ETFs. He said while the SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETP listings in January 2024, large wealth-management platforms still had to approve the products individually, decide which account categories could hold them, and obtain internal sign-offs before using them in model portfolios, estimating it took about two and a half years for ETF access to become genuinely usable rather than only technically available. He also cited Rule 611 under Regulation NMS as a structural obstacle for integrating something like Uniswap with brokerage services due to trading protections built for interconnected traditional equity venues.
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