SEC and CFTC Issue Joint Enforcement Statement
- Regulation
- Market Structure
OThe core message was a strong warning to market participants: when fraud occurs under the guise of offering digital instruments (whether called virtual currencies, coins, tokens, or similar), the agencies will look beyond form and examine the substance of the activity. They committed to prosecuting violations of federal securities and commodities laws accordingly.The Divisions of Enforcement for both the SEC and CFTC pledged to continue addressing violations and bringing actions to stop and prevent fraud in the offer and sale of these digital instruments. This statement underscored the regulators' coordinated approach to cracking down on scams in the emerging crypto space during the 2017-2018 boom.