The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is increasing its scrutiny of crypto intermediaries and firms, given rising crypto crimes.
John Reed Stark, former Chief, the SEC Office of Internet Enforcement, vouches for SEC’s involvement in reducing crypto-related crimes rate.
Highlighting the SEC’s “very aggressive” crypto stance, Stark states an even more aggressive stance toward crypto intermediaries is expected from the SEC.
Stark was asked in a CNBC interview as to which agency should accept the responsibility of the investors’ agony in the FTX collapse. He stated in the domain of cryptocurrency, the SEC has launched over 120 cases, triumphing in every single one of the cases.
Sharing Stark’s comments on the FTX fallout, Squawk Box tweeted:
"The SEC has brought over 120 cases in the area of #crypto and have won every single one of them," says @JohnReedStark on the @FTX_Official fallot. "The SEC has been very aggressive and they're going to be more aggressive when it comes to these crypto intermediaries." pic.twitter.com/5a2DRUaP7Q
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) December 29, 2022
Stark noted SEC stopped initial coin offerings (ICO), ceased lending programs, and didn’t allow Coinbase to launch a lending program. It also stopped Grayscale from launching a Bitcoin ETF, etc. to protect crypto investors.
SEC Chair, Gary Gensler, and other SEC officials, want crypto intermediaries to cooperate with compliance to safeguard investors from further catastrophic events.
The SEC charged Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), founder, FTX Trading Ltd., of planning a scheme to defraud equity investors two weeks ago.
Investigations are underway into additional alleged violations of the securities laws plus other entities connected to the alleged misbehavior, per an SEC report.
Gary Gensler noted,
The alleged fraud committed by Mr. Bankman-Fried is a clarion call to crypto platforms that they need to come into compliance with our laws.
This month, Gensler fired back in response to complaints that the organization failed to enforce regulations preventing crypto companies’ misbehavior. These also include preventing the likes of the illegal trading that led to FTX’s collapse.
Gensler stated that if crypt exchanges do not comply, the SEC will take additional enforcement measures. Although, he did not specify what those measures might actually be.
The SEC received 12,322 whistleblower tips in 2022. Manipulation, offering fraud, initial coin offerings (ICOs) / cryptocurrencies, corporate disclosures and financials, and insider trading were the most often reported offenses against both companies and individuals.
