The SEC has been committed to investor protection since the beginning. Time and again, it has flagged concerns and cautioned participants about the inherent risks they’re signing up for by stepping into the crypto industry. However, most of the time, its approach has been labeled as obstinate and stern.
Now, in the latest development, Republican Senator Tom Emmer has questioned public trust w.r.t. to the US financial ecosystem. The politician outlined that the SEC has pointed fingers toward “industry participants and companies” for the faith droop.
Emmer further asserted that the regulatory body has been using enforcement to expand its jurisdiction at the expense of public resources and trust. Such behavior, he said, was more prominently visible in the digital asset industry relative to others.
“Under Chair Gensler, the SEC has become a power-hungry regulator, politicizing enforcement, baiting companies to “come in and talk” to the Commission, then hitting them with enforcement actions, discouraging good-faith cooperation.”
‘Hellbent’ SEC
On Tuesday, the senator posted a video on Twitter showcasing the exchange of words between himself and directors at the financial regulator.
Emmer argued that SEC Chair Gary Gensler has adjured the enforcement division to send “sweep letters” to a particular sector of the crypto community designed to “jam them into a violation that is allegedly unconstitutional.”
Per the senator, companies are being baited to open up to supposedly voluntary information requests. Those failing to respond to the SEC would allegedly face a “bloodbath.” Elaborating on the same and further shedding light on the irony behind good faith cooperation, he said,
“Under Chair Gensler, the SEC has become a power-hungry regulator, politicizing enforcement, baiting companies to “come in and talk” to the Commission, then hitting them with enforcement actions, discouraging good-faith cooperation.“
It is worth recalling that back in May, the SEC nearly doubled the size of the enforcement’s crypto assets and the cyber unit, and it had announced the allocated 20 additional positions to the said unit. Per Emmer, the same is forceful and unconstitutional.
“The SEC is hellbent on expanding the size of its crypto enforcement division using enforcement to unconstitutionally expand its jurisdiction.”
Crypto bill delay
A few weeks back, Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand presented a bipartisan crypto bill. The same, as such, intends to provide more clarity in the regulation of crypto assets. However, in another parallel revelation, it was brought to light that the bill is unlikely to go to vote this year.
In a recent Bloomberg interview, Lummis emphasized that the crypto bill is “a big topic” that covers a wide-ranging set of regulatory aspects. She further highlighted that most US senators were new to the bill, which is why it may be presented for a vote only next year. Various aspects of the bill can get past committees over the next few months.
Read More: Did Cynthia Lummis’ Bitcoin bill fall between clear regulation and innovation?