The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will be impartial and strict in enforcing crypto regulations.
Gary Gensler, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), yesterday confirmed that the regulator would take a meticulous approach in enforcing crypto rules. Gensler was sworn into office last month, and many in the cryptocurrency sector are keen to see how he leads the commission.
Speaking at the 2021 Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Annual Conference, Gensler asserted that the regulator would do everything within its power to ensure that lawbreakers were stamped out of the crypto sector. He added that the commission wouldn’t condone characters in the sector “playing with the savings” of working families in the US. To that end, the commission would be steadfast and rigorous when effectuating crypto regulations.
“As we think about enforcement, to me, the idea is pretty simple: We need rules of the road and a cop on the beat to protect everyday investors and achieve our…mission,” he said during the virtual event.
Gensler averred that the SEC would go after all kinds of misconduct cases in the sector.
“That also means bringing cases that matter to all parts of our mission — whether deceptive conduct by private funds, offering or accounting frauds, insider trading, market manipulation, failures to act in retail customers’ best interests, reporting violations, best execution and fiduciary violations….”
He also acknowledged that the market was evolving in line with technology. The SEC chair remarked that the commission was up-to-date and would have no problem taking on crypto cases around FinTech and cybersecurity.
He further suggested that additional investor protection was needed, which would be achieved by enforcing more regulations on crypto exchanges. He added that regulations directed at exchanges would also apply to platforms that solely traded bitcoin and didn’t have a requirement to register with the SEC.
Gensler previously hinted at the same when he made his appearance to the House Financial Services Committee two weeks ago. He recommended adopting a framework for digital assets platforms established by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or the SEC itself. He explained that it would help protect investors from fraud and inspire their confidence.
Crypto platforms and companies have recently found themselves in a hard place. The former have been targeted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the latter by the Senate Banking Chairman.
Be the first to comment