The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today announced plans to nearly double its Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit to 50 staffers.

The Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit is part of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement and was previously known simply as the Cyber Unit. Its responsibilities include, among other tasks, investigating securities law violations related to the crypto ecosystem. 

“The U.S. has the greatest capital markets because investors have faith in them, and as more investors access the crypto markets, it is increasingly important to dedicate more resources to protecting them,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “By nearly doubling the size of this key unit, the SEC will be better equipped to police wrongdoing in the crypto markets while continuing to identify disclosure and controls issues with respect to cybersecurity.”

The unit is being expanded with 20 additional staffers including supervisors, investigative staff attorneys, trial counsels and fraud analysts. The staffers will be based out of the SEC’s headquarters Washington, D.C., and several regional offices.

The Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit’s responsibilities span many parts of the crypto ecosystem. Its areas of focus include investigating fraudulent activities related to crypto asset offerings, crypto exchanges, crypto lending and staking products, decentralized finance platforms, nonfungible tokens and stablecoins. The unit also investigates cyberthreats to critical financial infrastructure such as exchange platforms. 

“Crypto markets have exploded in recent years, with retail investors bearing the brunt of abuses in this space. Meanwhile, cyber-related threats continue to pose existential risks to our financial markets and participants,” said Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “The bolstered Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit will be at the forefront of protecting investors and ensuring fair and orderly markets in the face of these critical challenges.”

Since 2017, the unit has brought more than 80 enforcement actions related to fraudulent and unregistered crypto asset offerings and platforms. The enforcement actions have led to monetary relief totaling more than $2 billion.

The SEC’s move to expand its Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit comes weeks after the agency issued new accounting guidelines for publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange operators.

Many cryptocurrency exchange operators hold assets on behalf of their users. Under the new SEC guidelines, such companies will be required to record assets they hold for users as assets and liabilities on their balance sheets. The SEC has stated that the guidelines are designed to introduce more consistency to the accounting methods used by cryptocurrency exchange operators.

Photo: Pixabay