The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is planning to charge more cryptocurrency exchanges with breaking American securities laws.
The Wall Street regulator's head of crypto enforcement, David Hirsch, has said that the SEC is not done with its crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry, particularly when it comes to exchanges that facilitate trading in digital coins and tokens.
The SEC has already brought charges against leading crypto exchanges Coinbase (COIN) and Binance, accusing them of engaging in unregulated securities activities. None of the charges have been proven in court.
However, Hirsch says that the SEC isn’t done with its enforcement efforts and is investigating other crypto exchanges for possible securities violations and compliance breaches.
The SEC is currently involved in multiple crypto legal actions in federal courts across the U.S. as the regulator tries to apply securities laws to the sector.
However, the SEC has not always been successful in its cryptocurrency crackdown as evidenced by a recent court ruling that found digital asset Ripple (XRP) should not be regulated like a stock. The ruling was viewed as a precedent setting blow to the regulator.
Still, Hirsch said the SEC is continuing with its crypto enforcement efforts and that it is broadening out to include investigations of decentralized finance (DeFi) projects and operators.
The comments by Hirsch were made during a speaking engagement in Chicago.
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has seen its price rise sharply in recent days and is currently trading above $27,000 U.S., its highest level in a month.
