SEC Roundtable Flags Crypto Privacy vs. Surveillance Risks

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission held a crypto roundtable on Dec. 15 focused on the trade-off between blockchain surveillance and user privacy as on‑chain activity rises. SEC Chair Paul Atkins warned that poorly designed policy could make distributed ledgers “the most powerful financial surveillance architecture ever invented,” criticizing past approaches that treated every wallet like a broker. Commissioner Hester Peirce and other commissioners stressed that public blockchains are broadly viewable, increasing demand for privacy-preserving tools and challenging traditional transaction-monitoring frameworks. Industry and privacy advocates — including Zcash, the Blockchain Association and the Crypto Council for Innovation — participated, urging policies and technologies that protect users without imposing excessive surveillance. The meeting is the sixth organized by the SEC Crypto Task Force and comes amid legislative talks (notably the CLARITY Act) that could shift some jurisdictional authority between the SEC and CFTC. Commissioners also noted internal staffing changes that may compress the window for comprehensive digital-asset rules. For traders: expect heightened regulatory scrutiny of on‑chain data, potential changes in agency oversight (SEC vs. CFTC) and continued industry push for privacy tools — all factors that may affect compliance costs, market messaging and liquidity conditions.