Gary Gensler: “regulators must be prepared to fight cryptocurrency scammers”

The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said financial regulators need to pay particular attention to protecting cryptocurrency investors from intruders.

Gary Gensler said regulators should “be prepared to take legal action” against cybercriminals in the cryptocurrency industry and other emerging sectors. At the FINRA conference, Gensler said:

“As we monitor these areas, the SEC and FINRA should be prepared to pursue cases related to issues in the cryptocurrency, cybernetics and financial technology industries.”

In his brief speech, he highlighted investor protection. This week, US financial regulators announced they will form an interagency group to develop clear regulation of the cryptocurrency industry and address legal issues related to cryptoassets.

“We must do everything we can to ensure that attackers do not play with the savings of working families and that the rules are applied aggressively and consistently,” Gensler said.

He added that regulators must be prepared to pursue fraudulent private funds, insider trading and a host of other potential investor traps emerging in the capital markets.

This month, the SEC warned investors about the risks of buying Bitcoin futures and funds. The Commission called Bitcoin “an extremely high risk asset.” According to a report by Cornerstone Research, the SEC has settled 70% of disputes over cryptocurrency firms, having fined them $ 1.77 billion since 2013.

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