It’s been at least a few months since the United States Financial Institutions Regulatory Agency (FINRA), has received applications from around 40 different cryptocurrency startups to be given a license as broker-dealers in the industry.
FINRA has been delaying the requests as much as possible, citing various reasons as to why there is so little progress.
However, some market participants believe that the long wait is due to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s indecisiveness on how to deal with digital currencies in the United States.
Despite the fact that the SEC has done its homework and is clearly set on what the blockchain is, it’s still in a limbo of uncertainty when it comes to integrating the digital assets in the economy.
FINRA is likely not committing to handing our licenses without clear guidelines from the SEC, which have actually been issued in the past. The problem was that the guidelines helped to define the legal status of digital assets, but without an official regulatory standard, those guidelines could have been changed anytime, therefore very few companies used them.
Many analysts are saying that if the crypto companies are so eager about joining the United States economy, then they should have the patience to wait for the approval.
The problem is that some companies have been waiting for months, and others have waited for over a year now. Should the indecisiveness continue, there is nothing holding back these companies to find a bit more friendly territory for their operations and then open up a subsidiary in the US.
