SEC Investor Advisory Committee calls most crypto assets securities, urges ‘aggressive‘ action

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Investor Advisory Committee (IAC) has urged SEC Chair Gary Gensler to double down on crypto regulation and described most cryptocurrencies as securities.

In an April 6 letter, the IAC said it was pleased with the SEC’s actions on crypto. The IAC further encouraged the regulator to keep asserting authority over crypto assets that are securities and the trading platforms that list such assets.

Meanwhile, the IAC advised the SEC to continue providing guidance on crypto assets and prioritize crypto asset enforcement.

The letter highlighted the increasing activity in the crypto space over the past five years. It also mentioned that the market volatility — along with the industry’s fraud and abuse — has led to losses of more than $2 trillion.

The Committee reiterated Gensler’s view that almost all crypto assets are securities.

“We believe that virtually all, if not all, crypto tokens are securities and that they, as well as the platforms and custodians dealing with them, are subject to regulation under the federal securities laws to protect investors.”

Due to this, the IAC wants the SEC to continue being aggressive in its enforcement actions against companies that violate securities law.

SEC Regulatory Actions on Crypto

The Gensler-led regulatory agency instituted over 10 regulatory actions against market participants including Kraken, Do Kwon, Justin Sun, and several crypto influencers.

Other entities like Paxos and Coinbase have also received Wells Notice from the regulator.

Meanwhile, the SEC’s sister regulatory agency, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), filed a civil action against Binance and some key executives — including CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao.

Crypto stakeholders have described the increased regulatory scrutiny as “Operation Choke Point 2.0.” These stakeholders argue that these actions could force crypto firms outside the U.S.

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