Crypto exchange Backpack US has appointed former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Acting Chairman Michael S. Piwowar to its board of directors, according to an announcement on Tuesday.
“The U.S. regulatory landscape for digital assets is entering a new phase, with increasing focus on bringing innovation into established financial market structures through clear rules and effective oversight,” Piwowar said in a statement. “What makes this moment different from prior cycles is the growing momentum toward regulatory clarity and durable market infrastructure.”
Piwowar, now at Georgetown University, was appointed by President Barack Obama and served as an SEC commissioner from 2013 to 2018. He also briefly served as acting chairman during President Donald Trump’s first term, having been preceded by Mary Jo White and succeeded by Jay Clayton in 2017.
Although Piwowar and other SEC commissioners stated at the time that bitcoin should not be considered a security, he and the Commission took a skeptical approach to the initial coin offering boom. The agency issued warnings about crypto scams and emphasized investor protection.
During Piwowar's four-month stint as acting chairman in 2017, the SEC rejected the Winklevoss twins' proposal for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund, an application that had originally been filed four years earlier.
