Nasdaq needs clear regulations to launch crypto exchange, says VP

Nasdaq, the American stock exchange, has no immediate plans of launching a crypto exchange until there’s better regulatory clarity from policymakers, said Tal Cohen, the company’s executive vice president.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Cohen said that the retail side of the crypto market is fairly saturated and there are enough crypto exchanges catering to the needs of retail investors. He added that his firm would continue its focus on crypto custody services that were launched on Sept. 20.

Cohen also shed some light on other crypto-related services that the exchange is working on, namely building execution capabilities on the platform to move and transfer assets.

The world’s second-largest stock exchange might be hesitant to launch a crypto exchange in the United States, but the firm partnered with Brazil’s leading brokerage service provider XP to launch a crypto exchange last year itself.

The crypto market has gone through another price cycle like clockwork, but policymakers in the United States are yet to offer a clear framework to bring crypto markets under the purview of the law.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) led by Gary Gensler has been quite outspoken about the vulnerabilities that the nascent market posses and yet despite numerous calls for clearer regulations from Congress, the U.S. hasn’t made much headway on the regulatory front.

The SEC continues its enforcement actions against crypto firms and expanded its crypto enforcement team earlier this year. As a result of growing enforcement actions despite a lack of regulatory clarity, Senator Bill Hagerty, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, introduced legislation seeking a safe harbor for cryptocurrency exchanges from “certain” SEC enforcement actions.

The lack of regulations isn’t just preventing established players like Nasdaq from entering the space, but even existing crypto platforms in the country have suffered from time to time due to enforcement actions and fines.