Kevin Helms
A student of Austrian economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects and the intersection of economics and cryptography.
SEC Needs New Tools, Expertise and Resources to Regulate Crypto Industry – Regulation of Bitcoin News
US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler told a congressional hearing that the securities regulator “requires new tools, expertise and resources” to combat misconduct in the crypto space. “We have seen the wild west in the crypto markets, filled with non-compliance, where investors have put their hard-earned assets at risk in a highly speculative asset class,” he stressed.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on Budget Request and Crypto Regulation
US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler testified about the agency’s fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget request before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Service and General Government on Wednesday.
“I am pleased to support the President’s 2024 request of $2.436 billion for the SEC, to put us on a better track for the future,” Gensler began. “The FY 2024 request seeks funding for an additional 170 positions, as well as full-year funding for the employees hired in FY 2023.”
Commenting on the regulation of cryptoassets, the SEC chief told the subcommittee: “We have seen the Wild West in the cryptomarkets, filled with non-compliance, where investors have put their hard-earned assets at risk in a highly speculative asset class.” He emphasized:
Rapid technological innovation in the financial markets has led to misconduct in emerging and new areas, not least in the crypto space. Solving this requires new tools, expertise and resources.
The SEC chairman added that the additional staff will give the SEC’s enforcement division “more capacity to meet these challenges, investigate misconduct on a larger scale and accelerate the pace of enforcement investigations to resolution.”
Gensler explained that the securities watchdog received more than 35,000 separate tips, complaints and referrals from whistleblowers and others in fiscal year 2022. He noted that even with limited resources, the agency’s enforcement division brought more than 750 enforcement actions in 2022, a 9% increase from the previous year. “Our actions resulted in the ordering of $6.4 billion in fines and debarment,” the SEC chairman said.
The SEC has become increasingly active in the crypto space. Last week, the regulator issued Coinbase a “Wells notice” about the crypto exchange’s potential violation of securities laws. The regulator also accused Tron founder Justin Sun of market manipulation and offering unregistered securities. Additionally, the SEC recently took action against crypto exchange Kraken and stablecoin BUSD issuer Paxos. Meanwhile, Gensler has maintained that all crypto tokens other than bitcoin are securities.
What do you think about SEC Chairman Gary Gensler saying that the securities regulator needs “new tools, expertise and resources” to regulate the crypto sector? Let us know in the comments section below.
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