Former SEC counsel explains what it takes to make RWAs compliant

The SEC’s changing approach to crypto is supporting RWA growth, but jurisdictional and yield constraints continue to limit compliant models.

The key constraint on real-world assets (RWAs) has been regulatory engagement rather than technology, and that dynamic has been shifting in the US, said Ashley Ebersole, chief legal officer of Sologenic.

Ebersole joined the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in early 2015, where he served in the agency’s early internal working groups on crypto and the application of securities law to blockchain-based assets.

The securities regulator published the DAO Report in 2017, asserting its jurisdiction over tokens that met the definition of securities. What followed was an enforcement-led approach that left little room for sustained dialogue with the industry.

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