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Matthias Knab, Opalesque for New Managers: The SEC's Crypto Task Force used its Dec. 15, 2025 roundtable on "Financial Surveillance and Privacy" to frame a theme that is quickly becoming mainstream for institutional investors: whether financial markets can deliver investor protection and national security objectives without sliding into bulk financial surveillance.
What was discussed, and why it matters
In opening remarks, SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins argued that the government's "insatiable desire for data" has expanded major reporting and monitoring regimes (including the Consolidated Audit Trail, swap data repositories, and Form PF), with costs that may not match the benefits if the information is not fully used. He said the SEC has taken steps to scale back sensitive CAT data elements and re-examine scope and cost.
Atkins also framed crypto as a "forcing function" for the surveillance-versus-privacy debate: public blockchains can become the most powerful financial surveillance architecture ever built if regulators treat every wallet, protocol, and transaction as a reportable surveillance node. At the same time, he highlighted privacy-preserving technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs and selective disclosure as ways to prove compliance without exposing an investor's entire financial history.
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