#SEC Chair: Crypto Markets Are Filled With Bad Actors#

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler recently said in an interview that the cryptocurrency space is rife with "bad actors" and is a "non-compliant" area where market sentiment has a far greater impact than fundamentals. He noted that while Bitcoin accounts for 60% to 80% of the cryptocurrency market value, the remaining 10,000 to 15,000 crypto projects also raise funds from the public, with many ultimately failing and a significant number of pump-and-dump schemes and other issues. Gensler also said that he has made some progress in the area of cryptocurrency regulation since taking office and has continued the work of his predecessor, Jay Clayton. Over the past four years, the SEC has initiated about 100 enforcement actions against the cryptocurrency space, accounting for 5% of its enforcement work. He stressed that there is still work to be done in regulating altcoins and intermediaries in the crypto market. Gensler is set to step down as SEC Chair on January 20, and his comments suggest that the SEC's regulatory scrutiny of the cryptocurrency space will continue to intensify, with a focus on bad actors and market manipulation.