The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) recently hosted its first Crypto Working Group Roundtable at its Washington headquarters to discuss what has long been a central question - what makes an asset a security. The meeting marks a significant change in the SEC's approach to regulating the cryptocurrency industry, with what some crypto advocates have dubbed "regulation by law enforcement" likely to be coming to an end. Miles Jennings, general counsel of a16z crypto, said the SEC's past approach to regulation had failed to achieve its three main goals: investor protection, capital formation and market efficiency. He argued that the current approach "clearly does not work" and must be improved. Rodrigo Seira, special counsel at Cooley LLP, argues that the intention to buy an asset does not automatically make it a security. He cites the purchase of art as an example to show that investment intentions should not directly trigger securities regulation.