This is not a mere change in the formalities. Last June, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the SEC was time-barred from seeking to undo certain potentially "unreasonable" fees imposed by Nasdaq. See . In response, the SEC appears to be slowing down the fee approval process, which will, among other things, give broker-dealers and other firms affected by any fee increase an opportunity to comment on the justification for the increase. By installing process impediments to any exchange fee…

There would be tremendous demand across the globe for a U.S. dollar central bank digital currency. Query whether the FRB should move more quickly to create a "product" that would seem very substantially to reinforce the position of the United States as the global financial center.

Alternative history: a if Bitcoin had been adopted earlier.

The PWG is sending a message not only to China and Chinese issuers, but also to U.S. financial intermediaries that assist such issuers in any way, whether by providing a trading venue, by participating in distributions, or by advising clients to invest in these issuers. This is not the first time that this cautionary message has been sent to intermediaries. See, e.g., .

This is a real inside-baseball dispute and likely a good example of how process can affect policy. In her statement, Commissioner Lee expresses her belief that the change in the nominating process may result in reduced SEC attention to "ESG [economic, social and governance] investing, climate change expertise, proxy, shareholder rights, or even corporate governance broadly."

It is notable that the descriptions of the changes to the nominating process by the Commissioners who voted for…