Blockchain Association Challenges SEC’s Data Collection Program Over Privacy Concerns

The Blockchain Association and the DeFi Education Fund filed an amicus brief on August 23 challenging the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) program.

According to a press release by the Blockchain Association, the CAT program, which seeks to create a centralized database of all securities trades in the U.S., could expose digital asset transactions to extensive scrutiny.

1/ Today, we, along with @fund_defi, filed an amicus brief supporting a challenge to the SEC’s Consolidated Audit Trail – or CAT – program, highlighting the unprecedented privacy concerns raised by CAT. pic.twitter.com/na4CzB0BDG

— Blockchain Association (@BlockchainAssn) August 22, 2024

Potential Impact of SEC’s CAT Program

The amicus brief raised significant concerns about the privacy implications of the CAT program, which aims to compile a vast database of all U.S. securities trades.

They argued that the program could jeopardize the privacy of digital asset transactions, especially as the SEC considers many digital asset platforms as brokers or exchanges.

The program’s extensive data collection could link blockchain wallet addresses to personal information, exposing users to unprecedented surveillance of their financial activities.

The brief also cautioned that the CAT program could set a dangerous precedent for government overstepping monitoring financial data. The organizations emphasized that such broad surveillance could undermine individuals’ privacy rights and normalize invasive oversight.

“The CAT program’s sweeping surveillance of personal financial data, including potentially sensitive blockchain transactions, is a significant overreach that threatens to normalize invasive government oversight of our everyday lives,” said Blockchain Association policy counsel Laura Sanders.

“Left unchecked, initiatives like CAT can quietly erode our constitutional rights. The crypto community stands firm against such excessive financial surveillance regimes and urges lawmakers to recognize the broader implications of this particular project.” said Sanders.

Harris Could Choose Gary Gensler for Treasury Secretary

Democratic candidate Kamala Harris is reportedly considering SEC Chairman Gary Gensler as Treasury Secretary if she wins the upcoming November election, according to multiple senior Senate staffers.

Although Gensler has not made any public statements about leaving his current position, sources from the Senate have indicated that this potential nomination is being discussed, and some top Republicans have voiced concerns about the possibility.