Michael Saylor Pitches Crypto Framework To SEC Task Force, Highlights Legitimacy, ‘Rational’ Guidelines

Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor has published recommendations for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) recently formed digital assets task force, reiterating the importance of clear rules of the road for the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry to grow in the United States.

In the three-page document titled Digital Assets Framework, Principles, and Opportunity for the United States, the tech billionaire laid out specific terminologies and principles he believed the SEC crypto task force should consider when working on a regulatory framework.

The SEC has since confirmed that the task force did meet with Saylor and the tech executive submitted the proposal during the Friday meeting.

Saylor’s proposal has five key points, namely taxonomy, legitimacy, practicality, vision, and opportunity.

Taxonomy: Clarity for growth

Saylor, who leads the world’s largest known corporate holder of Bitcoin, said it was crucial to establish a “clear, universally understood taxonomy of digital assets” to foster innovation and advance efforts around policy.

As per Saylor, digital commodities are assets “without an issuer” and are “backed by digital power,” including Bitcoin, the world’s most valuable crypto asset. He also noted that digital securities were assets with an issuer and were “backed by a security” such as debt and derivatives.

In addition, Saylor provided recommended designations for digital currencies, digital tokens, digital non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and digital asset backed tokens (ABTs).

Legitimacy: The rights and responsibilities of service providers

Saylor’s framework proposal also has a clear path toward “legitimizing” digital assets — a serious topic among Web2 critics who believe cryptocurrencies are not legitimate assets.

“Creating a robust framework of rights and responsibilities is essential for issuers, exchanges, and owners to engage in digital asset markets with confidence,” Saylor reiterated.

He said the SEC should come up with an “uninterrupted” process for issuers, exchanges and holders to have a path toward legitimacy. They should be provided early on with clear guidelines on their rights and responsibilities within the space.

For instance, exchanges have the right to provide custodial, trading, and transfer solutions for customers, but they should also be held accountable if they don’t publish asset disclosures, protect clients’ assets, or fail to avoid conflicts of interests, he said.

Practicality: Ensure “rational” compliance to drive innovation

“Digital asset regulation must prioritize efficiency and innovation over friction and bureaucracy,” Saylor wrote, noting how the SEC can ensure this is plausible by requiring “standardized disclosures.”

He also encouraged the regulator’s crypto task force to encourage “industry-led compliance” by allowing exchanges to collect and publish digital asset data “as a service to the industry and investors.”

He went on to recommend the removal of regulators “from the critical path of digital asset issuance,” seemingly alluding to the SEC’s arduous and usually years-long processing of applications to issue crypto assets or engage in crypto businesses.

Vision: An opportunity to join the “renaissance”

For Saylor, the U.S., which is deemed one of the world’s leaders in tech innovation, has an opportunity “to catalyze a 21st-century capital markets renaissance, unleashing trillions of dollars in value creation.”

Notably, Saylor is among the prominent Bitcoiners who have been urging the U.S. government under President Donald Trump to consider a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

Opportunity: The US as a global digital hub

Saylor, known as a Bitcoin maximalist in the crypto space, said the U.S. should seize the opportunity to lead the world in the crypto race.

He projected growth at around $1 trillion to $590 trillion if the U.S. dominates the broader digital asset industry.

“A capital markets renaissance fueled by digital assets will unlock trillions in wealth, empower millions of businesses, and solidify the U.S. dollar as the foundation of the 21st-century digital financial system,” Saylor concluded.

Saylor’s proposed crypto framework for the SEC task force came at around the same time Strategy completed the acquisition of another 20,356 Bitcoin for nearly $2 billion. The huge purchase was made during BTC’s price downtime.

As of early Tuesday, Strategy now holds 499,096 Bitcoin.