SECs Gensler slams media for 'outsized' focus on crypto

By Chris Matthews

Crypto enforcement surged last year, but still represented less than 10% SEC cases

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler denied allegations that he is overly focused on the crypto industry in a Tuesday interview, arguing that it's the financial press that has become overly focused on the issue relative to traditional securities markets.

"We oversee a $110 trillion capital market. Crypto is a small piece of our overall markets, but it's an outsized piece of the scams and frauds and problems in our markets," Gensler said in an interview with CNBC.

"You end up with an outsized ration of journalists questions...to market cap," he added. "It's also a function of where the financial media is focused."

The SEC has ramped up enforcement actions against digital asset firms of late. Last year the agency brought a total of 46 crypto-related enforcement actions, a 53% increase from the year prior.

Still those were just a fraction of the 501 total actions brought last year, according to analyses by Cornerstone Research and the law firm Gibson Dunn.

Crypto companies are however more likely to refuse to settle with the SEC and take their chances in court. Of the 46 actions brought last year, several high profile targets including Coinbase (COIN), Binance, and Kraken, decided to litigate.

Typically, the SEC settles about 98% of all enforcement cases.

-Chris Matthews

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05-07-24 1033ET

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