Rep Tom Emmer Pushes SEC Chair For Bigger Crypto Clarity

The Minnesota Rep Tom Emmer who is also the chair of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, pushed the SEC chair, Gary Gensler, for bigger crypto clarity on regulation. The letter sent to the SEC chair was co-signed by seven other colleagues of Emmer so let’s read more today in our latest cryptocurrency news.

The Minnesota Rep Tom Emmer, demanded the SEC to clarify how it gathers information from crypto-linked companies while putting an end to time-wasting practices like demanding the same information multiple times. The SEC sends out two forms that ask for company details and penalties for withholding details which Emmer and his colleagues called into question recently. Basically, the forms ask for most of the same info.

My office has received numerous tips from crypto and blockchain firms that SEC Chair @GaryGensler’s information reporting “requests” to the crypto community are overburdensome, don’t feel particularly… voluntary… and are stifling innovation.

— Tom Emmer (@RepTomEmmer) March 16, 2022

Citing the Paperwork Reduction Act, Emmer wrote that he is seeking information from the American public and the federal agencies that have to be good stewards of the public’s time and not overwhelm them with unnecessary requests for information. Co-signing Emmer’s letter to the SEC chair was Byron Donalds of Florida, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Darren Sotto of Florida, Tedd Budd Of North Carolina, Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts, Ritchie Torres of New York, and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey.

The letter asked why the SEC’s enforcement division was used to investigate unregulated crypto companies rather than keeping a separate investigation. Emmer wrote that the recent trends are not consistent with how the SEC investigations are initiated. The letter asked for a year-by-year breakdown of the voluntary document requests that were sent by the SEC to crypto-related individuals, entities, and project teams over the past five years. The congressperson asked if the individuals were aware of any information investigations that were launched against these people and companies.

👏Proud of this bipartisan effort by @RepTomEmmer, @RepDarrenSoto, @WarrenDavidson, @RepAuchincloss, @RepDonaldsPress, @RepJoshG, @RepTedBudd, & @RepRitchie regarding SEC’s crypto info seeking process. These champions are ensuring the US remains a crypto innovation leader.👏 https://t.co/Th8b0rBpO5

— Blockchain Association (@BlockchainAssn) March 16, 2022

Emmer and his colleagues asked for a response from the SEC on April 29 and responding to Emmer’s tweet regarding the letter sent to the SEC, the Blockchain Association praised the bipartisan effort while the group added, they will ensure the US remains a crypto innovation leader.

Also as recently reported, The US SEC targeted NFT creators as well as NFT marketplaces for regulatory violations according to reports that cite anonymous sources that are familiar with the investigation. The probe is looking into whether these NFTs were utilized to raise money like traditional securities and the SEC event sent subpoenas related to the investigation.