Eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives, in a letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, pointed to the unwarranted nature of the investigations the commission is conducting into cryptocurrency companies.
The letter was prepared by Republican Tom Emmer, and signed by three more Republicans and four Democrats. In the letter they note that the investigations are “burdensome,” and pressure from officials hampers the development of the industry.
“My office has received several messages from cryptocurrency and blockchain firms that the information requests signed by SEC Chair Gary Gensler are burdensome, do not appear voluntary for respondents, and stifle innovation.”
According to Emmer, the SEC is abusing its investigative powers and unduly burdening startups with paperwork.
“There has recently been a trend toward using the SEC’s Investigation Division to obtain information from unregulated cryptocurrency and blockchain companies. This is done in a manner inconsistent with the commission’s standards,” he says in the letter.
The lawmakers believe the agency may be violating one of the federal statutes that limits the amount of information a person or organization can be required to provide to a federal agency.
Collins Belton, managing partner of the Brookwood law firm, said he was “very pleased” with Emmer’s letter.
“This is an interesting move that I did not expect… The questions listed in the letter are particularly timely and, in my view, do not cast the commission in a good light. And these are only the questions I personally know about.”
In October 2021, Emmer, along with a group of lawmakers proposed to exempt stablecoins and crypto-savings accounts from SEC oversight, and in February Gensler responded to a congressional inquiry about the reasons for denying the bitcoin ETF application.
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