Crypto-friendly US SEC Commissioner Mark Yyeda sworn in for second term

Mark T. Uyeda was sworn in for his second term as SEC Commissioner on December 28, 2023. Uyeda began his first term as SEC Commissioner on June 30, 2022, and held multiple positions at the SEC from 2006 to 2022, including Senior Advisor to former Chairman Jay Clayton, Senior Advisor to Acting Chairman Michael S. Piwowar, and Legal Counsel to Commissioner Paul S. Piwowar. It is currently unclear whether Uyeda's second term will support the approval of a Bitcoin ETF.

Uyeda is considered friendly towards the crypto industry and has previously opposed the SEC's rejection of Coinbase's request to develop new rule proposals, stating that there needs to be dialogue between regulators and the crypto industry. In August of last year, the SEC took its first regulatory enforcement action against the NFT industry, charging entertainment company Impact Theory, LLC for selling unregistered securities. Uyeda immediately issued a statement opposing the action, stating that there were still many issues with the first regulatory enforcement action against the NFT industry and that clarity needed to be achieved before the next regulatory enforcement case.