The CEO of Robinhood, Vlad Tenev, has written a Washington Post op-ed calling for a new approach to capital markets in the United States. He suggests the implementation of a security token registration regime that would allow companies to create token offerings open to U.S. investors. Tenev argues that the current securities market in the U.S. is limited by stringent regulations and lack of liquidity for exempt securities. He highlights the success of token offerings enabled by Ethereum's ERC-20 standard, but acknowledges the need for regulation in order to address scams and protect investors. Tenev proposes a regulatory third way that combines the simplicity of private placements with the liquidity of public offerings, allowing projects to sell securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens. He believes such a system would enable retail investors to invest in leading companies early on and draw additional capital from the global crypto retail market. Additionally, Tenev suggests that a liberalized cryptocurrency regime could potentially disrupt the current public securities regime and decrease compliance and disclosure requirements for public companies, though he acknowledges the demand for traditional disclosures from mature companies. He concludes by urging a shift in the conversation around crypto from bitcoin and memecoins to the possibilities blockchain technology offers for putting securities on-chain.



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