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The The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) has published a new report this reveals that cryptocurrency monitoring is an important element in their agenda for the year.
Entitled "Priorities for the 2019 exam", the Office for Inspections and Compliance Examinations SEC (OCIE) has put the digital resources in the spotlight, citing the risks it poses to investors. The report says:
Given the significant growth and risks presented in this market, OCIE will continue to monitor the supply and sale, trade and management of digital assets and, where the products are securities, will review regulatory compliance.
Of course, ICOs have a bad reputation for being a dangerous form of investment, and the The ICO market has only grown from the boom at the end of 2017. While the report does not provide any indication of what the specifics of the SEC approach will be, it tells us that the institution is considering digital assets as a legitimate asset class, that investors will be surely welcome. Many of them – and space in general – want regulatory clarity.
The director of the OCIE, Peter Driscoll, emphasizes this investor protection is the driving factor:
OCIE is firmly committed to protecting investors, securing market integrity and supporting responsible capital formation through risk-focused strategies that improve compliance, prevent fraud, monitor risks and inform policies.
Prevention of fraud and theft
In 2016, the SEC created its fake ICO called "Howey Coin" to show investors how easy it was to create a fake ICO and be cheated.
Actively monitoring the operations of the companies behind these resources will not be an easy task, given how easy it is for a digital asset to be launched. The report also says,
In particular, through high-level surveys, OCIE will take measures to identify market participants who offer, sell, negotiate and manage these products or consider or actively seek to offer these products and then assess the extent of their activities. For companies actively operating in the digital goods market, OCIE will conduct examinations focused, among others, on the management of the portfolio of digital assets, negotiation, security of funds and customer activities, determination of client portfolios, compliance and internal controls.
While currently it is determining whether some assets are or not security tokenand is flooded with Bitcoin ETF applications, the SEC must simultaneously establish laws that allow digital resources to flourish and prevent dishonest behavior in the market. 2019 will be a crucial year for regulation, not just in the United States, but throughout the world.
