The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is not backing down on its blockchain data policies. As a body which has been very pessimistic about blockchain efficiency and feasibility, SEC is now looking to narrow down its pessimistic approach towards the ecosystem and this time, how much data actually exist on the various blockchain is of significant interest.
Cryptocurrencies Vs Regulators
Cryptocurrencies lately have struggled to put their heads above waters under the watchful eyes of governments, financial agencies, and regulators seeking to either ban or restrict the blockchain in their respective areas.
One of the scapegoat projects that have recently jumped into rocky waters is Facebook’s Libra project. As at now, Libra’s development has been stopped and further developments are however uncertain.
SEC’s Data Requirements
The requirements listed by the SEC that all data is derived from hosted notes in the stead of blockchain explorers. The Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains are important considerations, while others like Bitcoin Cash, Stellar, Zcash, EOS, NEO and XRP data are all specified as optional and therefore desirable. Also, as new blockchains gain increased recognition, the SEC would require support for them. The SEC wants total blockchain data from the original block or inception and information about any alternative currencies (tokens) connected with these blockchains.
What SEC Seeks To Achieve?
The SEC is popular for its various regulatory operations and activities on financial issues. As a matter of regulation, the SEC has made it a point of duty to alert investors about the dangers involved in purchasing securities and also to educate them on how to invest wisely. Lately, the SEC has gone widely against cryptocurrencies and have made several regulatory attempts at the industry, always looking to put this industry in check. This time, having a glimpse of what blockchain data contains and looks like will enable the commission to enact the regulations needed to really put the space under strict watch and control.
Required Data Format
The data style required is very particular with normalized regions for each included blockchain derived from on-node data, entirely. The least region indicated is ticker symbol; sending and receiving addresses; transaction stamp or hash, timestamp, and amounts; unspent send and receive balances; transaction fees; confirmations; block hash, and block height.
Possibly, the SEC also wants further metadata and chain metrics such as hashing algorithms and power, difficulty in mining and associated rewards, transactions values, size and quantity, coin supply and blockchain size.
The data, according to SEC should be provided directly by the vendor’s own node for each blockchain using a secure, digitally protected data feed; synchronized with the network; and run in a secure, controlled environment. The data must also be presented with a way to confirm its accuracy and completeness and meet the requirements of financial statement audit testing.
Application Deadline
The length of the contract is a period of 12 months originally which is followed by four consecutive 12-month terms which are optional. The application requires both a price and technical quote. Data vendors are expected by the SEC to submit an application by 12 pm EST on the 11th of July, 2019.
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