In the wake of expulsion reactions, the SEC discusses deepening relations with El Salvador.

Source: Cointelegraph Original text: "In the wake of the expulsion, the SEC discusses deepening relations with El Salvador"

Officials from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cryptocurrency working group met with the National Digital Assets Commission of El Salvador (CNAD) to discuss regulatory issues and the proposed cross-border sandbox initiative.

In a memorandum dated April 22, the SEC's cryptocurrency working group reported that they met with officials from El Salvador, Perkins Coie law firm, and former Goldman Sachs partner Heather Shemilt, as part of the committee's outreach to the industry. Representatives discussed cross-border cooperation on cryptocurrency regulation between the United States and El Salvador at a time when the relationship between the two countries has become a national focus due to immigration issues and the repatriation of individuals to Salvadoran prisons.

According to the meeting minutes, the National Committee of El Salvador agreed to collaborate with the SEC to establish a sandbox pilot project, with a limit of $10,000 for each scenario. The project proposes to allow licensed brokers in the United States to obtain digital asset licenses in El Salvador and collaborate with local companies to issue "non-securities" tokens.

Many people in the cryptocurrency industry believe that El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele is the driving force behind the country's adoption of cryptocurrency. Since he announced in 2021 that Bitcoin (BTC) would be made legal tender through legislation, El Salvador has been advancing this effort. Bukele met with U.S. President Trump on April 14 to discuss a $6 million agreement, under which the Trump administration has sent immigrants (whose legal status in the U.S. is uncertain) to prisons in El Salvador. Some of these deportations violated federal court orders.

New SEC Chairman Sworn In

It is currently unclear whether the Trump administration intends to deepen its relationship with El Salvador through additional regulatory partnerships or by increasing the expulsion efforts in existing agreements. Cointelegraph reached out to SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, who is responsible for the cryptocurrency working group, for comments, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Around the day before the conference report was released, the SEC announced that Paul Atkins had been sworn in as the new chairman of the committee, succeeding Gary Gensler and acting chairman Mark Uyeda. At the swearing-in ceremony, Atkins stated that his top priority is to "provide a solid regulatory foundation for digital assets."

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