Securities and Exchange Commission launches a new group to combat crypto-related crimes.
Wall Street’s top regulator announced a new policy on Thursday. You can also read about the importance of this in our article The new Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit, which will be part of the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, will collaborate with this unit to “root out those seeking to misuse innovation to harm investors and diminish confidence in new technologies.”
In a statement, it was noted that this unit would replace the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit and consist of 30 fraud experts and lawyers drawn from all over the SEC. Laura D’Allaird, an SEC lawyer, will be the unit’s leader.
Back in 2020, D'Allaird was one of the attorneys who worked on the SEC's case against messaging service Kik Interactive, which the SEC alleged offered its Kin digital tokens in violation of the federal Securities Act.
Kik has sold 50 million Kin tokens in 2017 as part of an exclusive pre-sale. In this “Simple Agreement for Future Tokens,” The investors knew they got a deal by SAFT. The investors explicitly acknowledged that they had purchased a security.
Now, D'Allaird's new crypto unit will work with the regulator's New Crypto Task Force Dedicated to work on digital asset regulations. The SEC was a part of the Biden administration. Crushed down Gary Gensler’s former chairman Gary Gensler has said it repeatedly: “The space is a very difficult place to live in.” You can also read about the importance of this in our article It is important to note that digital assets are classified as securities in the majority.
After the The Election of the President of Republican President Donald Trump—a far more Crypto-friendly Candidate—the regulator has said it wants to take a different approach to overseeing the industry.
In a statement released on Thursday, Mark T. Uyeda, the acting chairman of SEC said that “the [Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit] will not only protect investors, but will also facilitate capital formation and market efficiency by clearing the way for innovation to grow.”
According to the announcement, this unit is designed to combat fraud that involves blockchain, cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence, to fight against hackers working on obtaining material nonpublic data, to target criminals who use social media, dark web or false websites in order to scam retail investors.
In the crypto world, crime is rampant. In the past year, 33 SEC enforcement actions were brought against cryptocurrency-related companies and individuals. Of the $8.2 Billion in penalties that SEC collected, $4.5 Billion came from a single case brought by SEC against Terraform Labs.
Hester Peirce is the SEC Commissioner who heads up its crypto taskforce. You can also read about the importance of this in our article Yesterday, the regulator announced that it was working hard to clarify the situation. “mess” The previous chair created the new management approach in the industry, which is a fast-moving complex one.
Edited By Stacy Elliott