SEC Reveals it is Going After More Crypto Exchanges and DeFi
SEC head of enforcements says they plan on more litigation in crypto | Credit: Shutterstock
Key Takeaways
- The SEC Enforcement Director says the commission will target more crypto exchanges.
- The commission is still pursuing litigation against Coinbase and Binance.
- David Hirsh realizes the commission doesn’t have the capacity to pursue litigation with all exchanges.
It has been a busy year for the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The regulating body has been at legal battles with the likes of Coinbase, Ripple, and Binance in 2023.
Although the commission has yet to conclude litigation with the aforementioned crypto institutions, the agency’s head of enforcement, David Hirsch, says other DeFi institutions and exchanges are in their crosshairs.
DeFi On The SEC’s Radar
During the Securities Enforcement Forum Central on Tuesday, Hirsch addressed the commission’s ongoing litigation with Coinbase and Binance, saying they’re investigating adjacent institutions, and that the industry’s compliance breeches “hold true well beyond any two entities.”
Hirsch reported that several crypto institutions are currently under investigation by the SEC and that the agency is adamant “to continue to bring those charges.”
The head of enforcement also reports that the agency is not only targeting high-profile institutions.
“We’re going to continue to be active as to intermediaries,” he said. “That can be brokers, dealers, exchanges, clearing agencies or any others who are active in this space, are within our jurisdiction and not meeting their obligations, either through registration or failure to provide adequate or complete disclosures.”
On top of that, Hirsch says that other DeFi businesses should also expect SEC litigation.
“We’re going to continue to conduct investigations, we’re gonna be active in the space, and adding the label of DeFi is not going to be something that’s going to deter us from continuing our work.”
The SEC Is Reaching Its Limits
Hirsch admits that the agency might be at full capacity. After all, the governmental body has a limited number of personnel to pursue crypto institutions.
The SEC, in the past, pursued large-scale crypto institutions, often with Wall Street backgrounds. However, since Hirsch took charge of the agency’s enforcement arm, the regulator has been pursuing litigation against crypto companies at an unusual rate.
“We do have a lot of litigation going on,” Hirsch admitted. When A. Kristina Littman, the event’s moderator said “It feels like you’re at capacity,” Hirsch agreed.
“There are more tokens extant — I think maybe 20,000, 25,000, last I read — than the SEC or any agency has the resources to pursue directly, and similarly there are a number of centralized platforms out there, some that are acting as unregistered exchanges.”
