SEC to push crypto exchanges into the regulated space in 2022

TL;DR Breakdown:

• Crypto exchanges will face more regulatory scrutiny from the SEC this year.
• The SEC chairman believes it’s important to ensure the same level of security in the traditional market. 

On several occasions, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, stressed the need to strengthen regulatory oversight for digital currency trading platforms. In 2022, the regulator is planning to put in more action to get crypto exchanges into the regulated space.

More scrutiny for crypto exchanges 

While speaking in a virtual press conference on Wednesday, Gensler mentioned the agency wants to make crypto exchange their primary focus as they crackdown on digital assets this year. The SEC wants to enforce more scrutiny on exchanges. The chairman believes this additional regulatory oversight in the space would ensure crypto investors gain the same level of protection when trading stocks or other assets.

“I’ve asked staff to look at every way to get these platforms inside the investor protection remit,” Gensler said. “If the trading platforms don’t come into the regulated space, it’d be another year of the public being vulnerable.”

Clear regulatory could bring adoption

Since Gensler assumed office as the chairman of SEC in April of 2021, he has shown more concern in bringing regulation to exchanges and the entire market. In December, he mentioned that SEC was open to working with exchanges for regulatory and compliance sake. “These platforms need to come in, get registered, come within the investor protection remit,” he added. 

Crypto experts like the founder of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried opined that 2022 would be the year cryptocurrency gains more regulatory clarity in the United States and around the world. Sam said he’s optimistic about it because more institutions are likely to take part in the space under such a regulatory environment.