Cryptocurrency-related enforcement actions undertaken by the United States securities regulator significantly increased in the six months following the bankruptcy of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
An analysis of press releases from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and news reports on its actions found that in the six months preceding FTXโs collapse โ the SEC undertook approximately six enforcement actions.
In the six months after FTXโs bankruptcy on Nov. 11, 2022, SEC crypto-related enforcement actions jumped to at least 17, an estimated increase of 183% from the preceding period.
The analysis doesnโt account for the two recent lawsuits the SEC brought against Binance on June 5 and Coinbase a day later.
The increased actions, including the recent ones taken against the two exchanges, has seen some observers suggesting the SEC is attempting to redeem itself for failing to police FTX.
On June 7, MarketWatch reported that Republican Representative French Hill said the recent crackdown was a โcover your assโ move from the regulator and SEC chair Gary Gensler. He was speaking at an event in Washington D.C. that day.
Letโs talk crypto. @RepFrenchHill says to Peter Roskam and Heath Shuler that bipartisanship played a huge role in drafting stablecoin legislation. #BHLegSem23 #BHEvents #Congress pic.twitter.com/D3B60qNgpS
โ BakerHostetler (@BakerHostetler) June 7, 2023
Hill claimed instead of Gensler โoverseeing FTXโ the SEC head was instead โout bashing Kim Kardashian because sheโs promoted crypto on some Super Bowl ad,โ and said:
โ[Gensler] opened up this year, in 2023, with all these enforcement actions, I think it looks like [cover your ass] to me.โ
Markus Thielen, the head of research and strategy at Matrixport and author of Crypto Titans previously told Cointelegraph he believes thereโs an air of โembarrassmentโ for those who didnโt catch the issues at FTX.
Related: SEC lawsuits: 67 cryptocurrencies are now seen as securities by the SEC
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse echoed the sentiment, claiming in a June 6 tweet that the SEC is โthrowing lawsuits at the wall and hoping they distract from the agencyโs FTX debacle.โ
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