Reacting to the Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank crises, the bank regulators acted forcefully and decisively amid uncertainty (two of Mr. Barr's principles.) They assured depositors at the failed banks that neither they nor the depositors at any other bank would lose money. But the regulators did so at significant cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund and raised the expectation that all future bank failures will be treated in the same fashion. 

This is not to say that the bank…

The argument that FINRA exercises governmental authority, and does so without being subject to the legal restraints that would apply to the government itself, is neither a novel argument, nor a trivial one. (See, e.g.  by former SEC Commissioner and Professor Roberta Karmel.)

Since the creation of FINRA, (originally the NASD), the strength of the argument that FINRA is effectively an arm of the Government (through the SEC's power over it) has only grown. The Exchange Act now…

SEC Commissioner Crenshaw the staff's conclusion that meme coins are not securities (and therefore, companies that participate in their sale do not need to register their transactions with the Commission).  She said it "advances an incomplete, unsupported view of the law to suggest that an entire product category is outside the bounds of SEC jurisdiction."

The Commissioner's attempt to define "meme coins" as "securities" because they are issued as part of an effort to make money…

No great surprise that the SEC decided to delay the effective date of the clearing mandate. The rule's details were not fully considered. Were it not for the fact that market participants have already put so much money into building the necessary systems, there would likely be a greater push to drop the requirement entirely, as the net benefits are not so obvious.

Assuming that the rule still goes forward, market participants should press for improvements. For example, the SEC should…