Empower Oversight Whistleblowers & Research (EMPOWR), an organization focused on providing independent oversight to corporate governance, recently submitted a compliant to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This followed an unsuccessful Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted in December 2022, which sought to uncover potential conflicts of interest of high-level SEC agency officials.
The compliant accuses the SEC of selective enforcement on cryptocurrency market businesses. As part of this complaint, the organization has requested communications involving SEC officials and their present/former employers related to cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, the organization claims that this issue arises due to past behavior of former senior SEC official William Hinman. According to their statement, Hinman, who was previously employed by Simpson Thacher and received money from them, was part of a group that promoted Ethereum. Additionally, he had declared publicly that Ethereum (ETH) is not a security, a classification which contradicts the SEC's stance of referring to ETH and other similar cryptocurrencies as unregistered securities.
The complaint was filed after SEC Chair Gary Gensler was criticized heavily by not only crypto trader communities, but also top United States lawmakers, led by Patrick McHenry, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. While speaking with Gensler, McHenry expressed his frustration regarding the lack of any real clarity around the regulation of crypto related activities in the US.
Empower Oversight's complaint came at a particularly sensitive time for the SEC, as the agency quickly tries to implement a transparent, efficient, and dynamic framework for cryptocurrency-related activities. This complaint is likely to further dent the SEC's reputation and could even lead to increased scrutiny of their practices by both regulators and legislators. As discussions around this matter progress, the cryptocurrency market will be looking on eagerly to see how this tension between the two parties plays out in the near future.
Robert Ward
- 2023-05-11
A Complaint Was Just Filed with the SEC
Empower Oversight Whistleblowers & Research (EMPOWR) recently submitted a compliant to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), accusing the agency of selective enforcement on cryptocurrency market businesses. Read further to find out what this complaint entails and how this might affect the SEC and the cryptocurrency market.
