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ARTICLE · 10 MAY 2022

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SEC Ramp Up Means Increased Enforcement Coming To Crypto Platforms, DeFi Exchanges And NFTs

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On May 3, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it was nearly doubling the size of the Enforcement Division's Crypto Assets...

United StatesTechnology
Ian Patrick McGinley
Ian Patrick McGinley
Peter I. Altman
Peter I. Altman
Michael Asaro
Michael Asaro
James J. Benjamin Jr.
James J. Benjamin Jr.
Charles F. Connolly
Charles F. Connolly
Katherine Rachel Goldstein
Katherine Rachel Goldstein
Parvin Daphne Moyne
Parvin Daphne Moyne
Nathaniel B. Botwinick
Nathaniel B. Botwinick
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On May 3, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it was nearly doubling the size of the Enforcement Division's Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit in order to pursue cases involving crypto asset offerings, crypto asset exchanges, crypto asset lending and staking products, decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and stablecoins.1 SEC Chair Gary Gensler stated that with this increase "the SEC will be better equipped to police wrongdoing" in cryptocurrency markets and from cyber-related threats. While Gensler did not specify the types of wrongdoing this expanded unit will pursue, his recent public statements provide helpful guidance.

Last month, in a sweeping speech at the University of Pennsylvania, Gensler ominously compared the crypto ads during the Super Bowl this year to Super Bowl ads run by subprime lenders in the lead-up to the financial crisis and dotcom companies in 2000, revealing a skepticism toward these markets

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