SEC Nearly Doubles Size of Crypto Enforcement Unit

<p>The Securities and Exchange Commission &lpar;SEC&rpar; announced the allocation of 20 additional positions to the unit responsible for protecting investors in crypto markets and from cyber-related threats&period; The newly renamed Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit &lpar;formerly known as the Cyber Unit&rpar; in the Division of Enforcement will grow to 50 dedicated positions&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;The U&period;S&period; has the greatest capital markets because investors have faith in them&comma; and as more investors access the crypto markets&comma; it is increasingly important to dedicate more resources to protecting them&comma;&&num;8221&semi; said SEC Chair Gary Gensler&period; &&num;8220&semi;The Division of Enforcement’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit has successfully brought dozens of cases against those seeking to take advantage of investors in crypto markets&period; By nearly doubling the size of this key unit&comma; the SEC will be better equipped to police wrongdoing in the crypto markets while continuing to identify disclosure and controls issues with respect to cybersecurity&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Since its creation in 2017&comma; the unit has brought more than 80 enforcement actions related to fraudulent and unregistered crypto asset offerings and platforms&comma; resulting in monetary relief totaling more than &dollar;2 billion&period; The expanded Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit will leverage the agency’s expertise to ensure investors are protected in the crypto markets&comma; with a focus on investigating securities law violations related to&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li>Crypto asset offerings&semi;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Crypto asset exchanges&semi;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Crypto asset lending and staking products&semi;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Decentralized finance &lpar;&&num;8220&semi;DeFi&&num;8221&semi;&rpar; platforms&semi;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Non-fungible tokens &lpar;&&num;8220&semi;NFTs&&num;8221&semi;&rpar;&semi; and<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Stablecoins&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<p>In addition&comma; the unit has brought numerous actions against SEC registrants and public companies for failing to maintain adequate cybersecurity controls and for failing to appropriately disclose cyber-related risks and incidents&period; The Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit will continue to tackle the omnipresent cyber-related threats to the nation’s markets&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;Crypto markets have exploded in recent years&comma; with retail investors bearing the brunt of abuses in this space&period; Meanwhile&comma; cyber-related threats continue to pose existential risks to our financial markets and participants&comma;&&num;8221&semi; said Gurbir S&period; Grewal&comma; Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement&period; &&num;8220&semi;The bolstered Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit will be at the forefront of protecting investors and ensuring fair and orderly markets in the face of these critical challenges&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The infusion of 20 additional positions into the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit will bolster the ranks of its supervisors&comma; investigative staff attorneys&comma; trial counsels&comma; and fraud analysts in the agency’s headquarters in Washington&comma; DC&comma; as well as several regional offices&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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