SEC Strengthens Crypto Enforcement Unit, Adds 20 New Roles

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is doubling down on its cryptocurrency industry enforcement efforts with the addition of 20 new positions to its crypto-specific unit.

Announced on Tuesday, this addition will take the headcount of the unit, which is responsible for protecting investors in crypto markets and from cyber-related threats, to a total of 50. It came after the agency renamed the unit as Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit.

The newly added ranks include supervisors, investigative staff attorneys, trial counsels and fraud analysts, who will be based in Washington DC headquarters and regional offices.

“The U.S. has the greatest capital markets because investors have faith in them, and as more investors access the crypto markets, it is increasingly important to dedicate more resources to protecting them,” Gary Gensler, the SEC Chair, said in a statement.

The Unit behind Enforcement against Crypto Firms

The US securities market supervisor established the crypto enforcement unit in 2017. Since then, it has brought more than 80 enforcement actions related to crypto-assets that have resulted in a total monetary relief of more than $2 billion.

The unit focuses on the securities law violations related to crypto-asset offerings, exchanges, lending and staking Staking Staking is defined as the process of holding funds in a cryptocurrency wallet to support the operations of a blockchain network. In particular, staking represents a bid to secure a volume of crypto to receive rewards. In most case however, this process relies on users participating in blockchain-related activities via a personal crypto wallet.The concept of staking is also closely tied to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS). PoS is a type of consensus algorithm in which a blockchain network aims to achieve Staking is defined as the process of holding funds in a cryptocurrency wallet to support the operations of a blockchain network. In particular, staking represents a bid to secure a volume of crypto to receive rewards. In most case however, this process relies on users participating in blockchain-related activities via a personal crypto wallet.The concept of staking is also closely tied to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS). PoS is a type of consensus algorithm in which a blockchain network aims to achieve Read this Term platforms, decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and stablecoins.

It also focuses on cyber-related threats and took action against SEC registrants and public companies for lapses in cybersecurity controls.

“By nearly doubling the size of this key unit, 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 Cybersecurity Cybersecurity is a blanket term that refers to the protection of computer systems and networks from the theft.More broadly speaking, cybersecurity can also represent countermeasures against damage to hardware, software, or electronic data, as well as from the disruption or misdirection of the services they provide.It was not long ago that the term cybersecurity not exist as it was first used in 1989. In today’s vernacular cybersecurity, refers to measures taken to protect a computer or computer Cybersecurity is a blanket term that refers to the protection of computer systems and networks from the theft.More broadly speaking, cybersecurity can also represent countermeasures against damage to hardware, software, or electronic data, as well as from the disruption or misdirection of the services they provide.It was not long ago that the term cybersecurity not exist as it was first used in 1989. In today’s vernacular cybersecurity, refers to measures taken to protect a computer or computer Read this Term,” Gensler added.

Furthermore, the SEC is in the middle of its legal battle with blockchain company Ripple, the fate of which can reshare the US regulations around cryptocurrencies. Also, the agency is looking into the crypto lending business and settled with BlockFi for a fine of $50 million; the company paid another $50 million to the state regulators.