SEC Chair Gary Gensler renewed his warning that the crypto industry is "rife with fraud and manipulation" at D.C. Fintech Week on Nov. 8.
Because of widespread noncompliance and nondisclosure by crypto actors, "certain minority communities have been hurt more (from) investing in crypto than others," Gensler said, adding that it's important for investors to understand the use case of each individual crypto token.
Gensler has been a long-time critic of the digital asset space and repeatedly expressed concern over noncompliance, though many in the industry have asked for more clarity on how to comply with existing laws. Some industry players and Republican crypto advocates have also been critical of the SEC's enforcement actions against crypto firms.
"We've brought, between prior chairs and (the) prior administration and this administration, somewhere (around) 150ish crypto cases settled or litigated," Gensler said. "I'm really proud of that."
Gensler added that all enforcement actions, including those in the crypto space, are "a matter of following the facts and the law where they take us without fear or favor."
There is still disagreement within the crypto community about how to split jurisdiction of the space between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
In remarks made Nov. 7 at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's annual meeting, CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam said his agency needs broader authority from Congress to oversee the digital asset industry.
In July, the House Financial Services Committee and House Agriculture Committee advanced a bill that would give the CFTC new authority over digital commodity markets, while maintaining the SEC's authority over digital securities. It also directs both regulators to create joint rule-makings on the issue, and allows digital asset intermediaries dual registration with the SEC and CFTC, though the bill has not moved since advancing out of committee.
Other digital asset bills floated around Congress in 2022, but progress stalled after the November collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
