SEC Investor Advisory Committee calls most crypto-assets securities, urges “aggressive” action
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Investor Advisory Committee (IAC) has urged SEC Chairman Gary Gensler to double down on crypto regulation, describing most cryptocurrencies as securities.
In a April 6 letter, the IAC said it was satisfied with the SEC’s actions on crypto. The IAC further urged the regulator to continue asserting authority over crypto-assets that are securities and the trading platforms that list such assets.
In the meantime, the IAC advised the SEC to continue to provide guidance on cryptoassets and prioritize cryptoasset enforcement.
The letter highlighted the increasing activity in the crypto space over the past five years. It also mentioned that market volatility – along with industry fraud and abuse – has led to losses of more than $2 trillion.
The committee reiterated Gensler’s view that almost all crypto assets are securities.
“We believe that virtually all, if not all, crypto-tokens are securities and that they, as well as the platforms and custodians that handle them, are subject to regulation under the federal securities laws to protect investors.”
Because of this, the IAC wants the SEC to continue to be aggressive in its enforcement actions against companies that violate the Securities Act.
SEC Regulatory Actions on Crypto
The Gensler-led regulatory agency took over 10 regulatory actions against market participants, including Kraken, Do Kwon, Justin Sun and several crypto influencers.
Other entities such as Paxos and Coinbase have also received Wells Notices from the regulator.
Meanwhile, the SEC’s sister regulatory agency, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), filed a civil lawsuit against Binance and some key executives – including CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao.
Crypto stakeholders have described the increased regulatory scrutiny as “Operation Choke Point 2.0.” These stakeholders argue that these actions could force crypto firms out of the United States
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