SEC’s Relaxed Stance on Crypto Guidance Fails to Appease Critics

The SEC has moderated its stance on accounting for certain crypto assets, but not enough to satisfy critics who say its two-year-old guidance is still confusing and hampering wider adoption of digital currencies.

The Wall Street regulator last week said that it has told some large banks and even brokerages they could offer certain crypto products without adding to their balance sheets, effectively bypassing current requirements outlined in Staff Accounting Bulletin 121.

Crypto advocates, however, remain unimpressed with the Securities and Exhange Commission’s workaround.

“Instead of engaging in open conversation with enterprise digital asset leaders, Congress and the SEC have ...