On March 29, Gary Gensler, chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), addressed the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Affairs. He requested a total of $2.436 billion from the state budget for fiscal 2024 to meet the SEC’s mandate to adequately protect investors and position the agency for the future.
Gensler emphasized that the SEC has grown steadily over the past seven years and now has 30 departments and offices in 11 regional locations in addition to its headquarters in Washington. In addition, the authority is responsible for monitoring rating agencies.
Fight against scapegoats in the cryptocurrency sector
Consistent with President Biden’s request for a record over $2.4 billion for the SEC, Gensler emphasized the need to continuously address wrongdoing in the cryptocurrency sector. He highlighted that additional resources, knowledge and tools are needed to keep up with the rapid pace of technological innovation in financial markets.
The budget provided would allow the SEC to hire 170 additional staff, much of whom would work in enforcement and auditing. This increase in staff would help to increase the regulatory effectiveness of the authority and to achieve the goal of better protecting investors and stabilizing the financial markets. Gary Gensler underscored the central importance of the SEC as a trusted partner for the 330 million Americans who have spent the past 90 years investing in their 401(k)s and IRAs, participating in the capital markets, financing their businesses and driving innovation.
Before the subcommittee, Gensler compared the crypto market to the Wild West and called digital assets speculative. The SEC has ramped up its crackdown on cryptocurrency companies in recent months, sending multiple well notices to leading crypto firms like Coinbase and Paxos.
The SEC team believes that not only does the BUSD stablecoin qualify as a security, but most crypto assets also fall under SEC jurisdiction. During the 2022 financial year, the supervisory authority received over 35,000 individual reports, complaints and tips from whistleblowers and various other sources of information. This enabled over 750 enforcement actions to be initiated, resulting in a total of $6.4 billion in penalties and recoveries.
Of those cases, 30 involved the cryptocurrency sector, resulting in $242 million in fines. This represents a 36% increase from 22 cases in 2021. The numbers highlight the growing importance of regulation in the cryptocurrency space and underscore the need to provide the SEC with adequate funding and resources.
Increasing efficiency, modernizing rules and adapting to technological innovations
To increase the efficiency of the SEC and ensure financial stability, Gensler wants to modernize the rules for the $100 trillion market as mandated by Congress. To achieve this goal, the SEC plans to use the majority of the proposed budget to enforce regulations, improve its tools, and acquire new resources. This is intended to increase their capacities in view of the rapid technological innovation across the industry, including the cryptocurrency sector.
Despite the benefits of modernizing markets and integrating technology, Gensler emphasizes that these developments also bring challenges. These could increase the risk of wrongdoing, which is why he advocates strengthening the SEC to effectively counter bad actors.
The regulator is taking a proactive approach to address the growing challenges in the rapidly changing financial landscape. This includes promoting transparency, accountability and fairness in the markets to increase investor confidence and support sustainable economic development.
Given Gensler and the SEC’s determination to embrace the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century and create a safe environment for investors, it is important to choose a trusted platform for your cryptocurrency investments. OKX is one such platform, characterized by strict security measures and compliance with regulatory standards. With OKX you can invest in cryptocurrencies while benefiting from the expertise and protection provided by a modern, agile and effective regulator like the SEC. So you can rest assured that your investments are safe in the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrencies.
OKX: Safe investing in cryptocurrencies in line with modern regulation
Stands out as one of the most renowned trading platforms in the industry OKX with a wide range of trading opportunities. The outstanding security that OKX offers its customers makes it an ideal choice for a trustworthy Ethereum investment. The security measures employed include state-of-the-art techniques such as two-factor authentication, SSL encryption and a dedicated team of experts who continuously monitor the platform to ensure the integrity of all transactions. Also leads OKX a Proof of Reserves procedure, whereby users can be sure that the platform has sufficient reserves in the event of a bank run.
OKX also convinces with its user-oriented design, which accommodates both newcomers and experienced traders. The user-friendly interface allows clients to effortlessly discover trading pairs and transact trades with ease and speed.
An added plus of OKX is the impressive liquidity of the platform. Thanks to a high trading volume and a large user base, buyers and sellers can easily find each other, which allows deals to be closed quickly. This not only contributes to the price stability of cryptocurrencies, but also minimizes the potential for market manipulation.
