During the most recent investigation that they conducted, the United States SEC allegedly disclosed private information, including the names and email addresses of crypto miners who were affiliated with the blockchain company Green.
The Washington Examiner published an article (1) on Tuesday, January 17, stating that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) inadvertently included 650 emails and names of miners in its email conversation with Green.
Because of this, blockchain nodes are now susceptible to being hacked. Since then, the agency in charge of regulating securities has been communicating with Green users about their purchases of items offered by the blockchain company. On the website of the SEC, it says:
"The Privacy Act of 1974 [...] makes it illegal for the federal government to disclose, without first obtaining the individual's permission, any information about them that is kept in a database or other organized collection of information. If we decide to keep information about you in a database of records, from which we may obtain such information using a personal identifier, [...] we will protect your information in line with the Privacy Act.
There have not been any cases of unintended disclosures of sensitive information by government officials in the past. However, hackers have consistently targeted centralized exchanges to obtain consumer information.
Following a significant crash during the crypto winter of 2022, the US SEC has adopted a more aggressive strategy for its crypto currency crackdown. The securities regulator has carried out several enforcement actions over the past year, and detractors have frequently criticized the agency for employing a strategy known as "regulation by enforcement."
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) became engaged in the matter of the failure of the crypto currency exchange FTX last month, stating that a breach of the anti-fraud clause of the securities laws had occurred.
The SEC's Increasing Interest in Crypto
The SEC has been paying an increasing amount of attention to the recent changes that have been taking place in the crypto currency market. They are keeping an eye on the crypto currency mining companies since they are up against significant headwinds due to the collapse of the crypto currency market last year.
The most recent event is that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against both Genesis and Gemini, claiming they violated the securities laws by selling unregistered securities.
"Today's charges expand on earlier efforts to make it apparent to the market and the financial community that crypto credit institutions and other middlemen need to confirm with our time-tested regulatory requirements," the SEC said.
It added that "today's charges build on past actions." Investors are best protected when this is done. It encourages an atmosphere of trust in the market, and it is not up to the individual. They pointed out that "it's the law."
