United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) He announced on Tuesday that he will almost double the number of staff responsible for protecting investors in the cryptocurrency markets.
According to the announcement, the SEC’s “Crypto Assets and Cyber” team will recruit 20 people for 50 different units. The 20 people to be recruited for this job will consist of professions such as investigative staff, litigation lawyers, fraud analysts. Gary Genslerlauded his appointments as belated and necessary to oversee one of Wall Street’s newest and most popular sectors.
This announcement is actually pretty good news for many who are concerned about the potential for market manipulation and other fraudulent activities in the crypto space. Gensler added that in recent months, the SEC has successfully brought “dozens of lawsuits against those seeking to capitalize on investors in the crypto markets” of crypto assets:
“By nearly doubling the size of the unit so critical to this industry, the SEC will be better equipped to monitor falsehoods in the crypto markets as it continues to identify disclosure and control issues related to cybersecurity.”
SEC Enforcement Director Gurbir S. Grewal explained that the majority of victims of securities fraud related to cryptoassets are individuals. According to Grewal, cyber attacks USA continues to pose an “existential” risk to the financial system. The “Supported Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit” will be at the forefront of protecting investors and the broader markets.
The announcement came after nearly eight months of requests for more staffing. Gensler’s remark to senators that the SEC needs far more staff to confront an ever-increasing number of new financial technologies seems to have paid off.
Gensler emphasized last month that the SEC’s protections for investors of traditional assets should apply to crypto traders as well. With his “enter and talk to us” approach, Gensler urged crypto companies with securities to register to protect investors. The lack of regulatory clarity in the United States has been criticized by several cryptocurrency firms, which has been affected by various authorities, including the SEC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.