LOOM CRYPTO SERIES

In March, North Korea stole approximately $30 million worth of digital tokens (the US government recently seized those stolen tokens).

Gensler’s comments, and the SEC’s corresponding actions, come on the heels of other developments that have affected the nascent industry. Gensler has publicly supported this effort, as he has consistently expressed skepticism of the state of the cryptocurrency market and made it a priority to enact rules that more explicitly regulate crypto. In January, the SEC proposed a rule that would significantly broaden the definition of “exchange,” which would more firmly bring the cryptocurrency market under the SEC’s regulatory purview. The SEC’s apparent push to disaggregate cryptocurrency business functions comes as the crypto market has come under increasing scrutiny. This is in stark contrast to the traditional securities markets, in which such services are separated from each other. Such a move could result in a dramatic shakeup in the crypto market, where there are currently several cryptocurrency platforms that perform all of these functions.

In prepared remarks at PLI’s recent SEC Speaks conference, Gensler called on cryptocurrency platforms to register each function they perform with the SEC – for example, requiring crypto dealers, brokers, and lenders to separately register those functions with the SEC.

LOOM CRYPTO SERIES

SEC Chair Gary Gensler appears to be readying the SEC for increasing oversight of cryptocurrency exchanges, the latest in a series of regulatory actions targeting the growing industry.

Loom crypto