The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is looking to recruit a new breed of investigators to grow its ranks. According to a recent Press releasethe US federal agency for regulating and supervising financial markets wants to put a stop to cyber scamswith the help of cryptocurrency specialists.
50 investigators specialized in cryptocurrencies
This move by the SEC is part of a new, albeit belated, effort by governments around the world to crack down on cryptocurrency fraud. The US federal government has understood that the decentralized financial space had to be the subject of a full-fledged control unit. The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that it will recruit 20 new investigators for its crypto-asset surveillance unit. They will therefore be 50 to be specialized in the field. Same fight in Europe, lawmakers want to strengthen the rules of the European Union about transactions in crypto-assets.
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The unit includes lawyers and other specialists responsible for monitoring all crypto-assets, exchanges and platforms, as well as NFTs. According to an SEC spokesperson, the unit’s current head, Kristina Littman, is stepping down. After twelve years in the SEC, she leaves her place. According to unnamed insiders, Littman plans to leave the agency in June. The SEC praised the effectiveness of its unit, which filed 80 actions against fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms and unregistered worth approximately $2 billion since its inception.
A $3 trillion industry
Platforms like Bitconnect and Ripple Labs in particular have come under scrutiny. According to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, “As more and more investors access the cryptocurrency markets, there is a need to strengthen law enforcement. By nearly doubling the size of this key unit, the SEC will be better equipped to monitor wrongdoing in crypto-asset markets, while continuing to identify cybersecurity disclosure and oversight issues.”.
The boom in the cryptocurrency industry has led to an industry that is now worth around $3 trillion worldwide. Despite this rapid growth, governments have struggled to keep pace. However, there are many scams. There are several phenomena. Besides the many examples of fake cryptocurrency projects running off with people’s money, many hackers openly trade stolen crypto-assets online. Mairead McGuinness, Commissioner for Financial Services of the European Commission, wrote an op-ed to The Hill in which she calls for global cooperation to “curb cyber scams”.