U.S. Representative Tom Emmer (R-MN-06) sent a letter to Gary Gensler, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to receive more information relating to the agency’s information-seeking process relating to cryptocurrency and blockchain firms.
The letter, a bipartisan effort signed by multiple representatives, encouraged accountability and transparency, as the group outlined more than a dozen questions about the process.
“Crypto startups must not be weighed down by extra-jurisdictional and burdensome reporting requirements. The SEC must ensure that its information-seeking requests to private crypto and blockchain firms are not overburdensome, unnecessary, and do not stifle innovation,” Emmer said in a statement.
In the address, the group questioned the manner and frequency of the SEC when requesting documents from private cryptocurrency firms that are not regulated by the SEC.
According to the letter, the inquiries may be out of the scope of the agency based on federal law.
“The SEC’s regulatory functions, while broad, are limited to the extent of its statutorily mandated jurisdiction. Enforcement powers, while conceptually broader with respect to non-SEC regulated entities, are still circumscribed by statute, federal judicial review, congressional oversight and the Commission’s own policies and procedures for initiating and conducting inquiries and investigations. It appears there has been a recent trend towards employing the Enforcement Division’s investigative functions to gather information from unregulated cryptocurrency and blockchain industry participants in a manner inconsistent with the Commission’s standards for initiating investigations,” the group of lawmakers wrote.
They added that they “have reason to believe these requests might be at odds with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).”
The federal law seeks to limit the burden of paperwork on many organizations, including small businesses, educational and nonprofit institutions, and federal contractors.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Minnesota Sun and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
