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 of crypto markets, riddled with default, where investors have put their hard-earned assets at risk in a highly speculative asset class,” he emphasized.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on the budget request and crypto regulation
US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler testified on his agency’s fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget request before the General Government and Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee Chamber on Wednesday.
“I am pleased to support the President’s FY 2024 request for $2.436 billion to the SEC, to put us on a better path for the future,” Gensler began. “The FY 2024 application seeks funding for an additional 170 positions, as well as full-year funding for staff hired in FY 2023.”
Commenting on crypto asset regulation, the SEC chief told the subcommittee: “We have seen the Wild West of crypto markets, rife with default, where investors have put hard-earned assets at risk in a class of highly speculative assets”. He emphasized:
Rapid technological innovation in financial markets has given rise to misconduct in emerging and new areas, most notably in the crypto space. Addressing this requires new tools, experience and resources.
The SEC chairman added that the additional staff will provide the SEC’s Enforcement Division “with more capacity to meet these challenges, investigate misconduct on a larger scale, and accelerate the pace of compliance 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 Compliance Division filed more than 750 actions. compliance in fiscal year 2022, a 9% increase over the prior year. “Our actions resulted in $6.4 billion in fines and remand orders,” the SEC chairman said.
The SEC has been increasingly active in the crypto space. Last week, the regulator sent Coinbase a “Wells notice” about possible securities law violations by the cryptocurrency exchange. The regulator also charged Tron founder Justin Sun with manipulating the market and offering unregistered securities. Additionally, the SEC recently took action against crypto exchange Kraken and stablecoin issuer BUSD Paxos. Meanwhile, Gensler has maintained that all non-bitcoin crypto tokens 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 cryptocurrency industry? Let us know in the comments section.
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