SEC Revealed Personal Details of Crypto Miners During Investigation
- Many crypto miners associated with the blockchain company Green had their personal details leaked by the SEC during an investigation.
- The securities regulator accidentally revealed 650 names and email addresses in an email correspondence with Green.
- The miners have pointed out that this leak could make the blockchain nodes that they operate, open to hackers.
- the financial regulator was contacting Green’s customers about their use of the company’s products as a part of their investigation.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently been under increased scrutiny due to its failure to prevent the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and bring stability to the volatile industry. It is crucial to note that many crypto miners associated with the blockchain company Green have reported that their personal details like email addresses and names have apparently been exposed by the securities regulator.
As a part of their investigation, the financial regulator was contacting Green’s customers about their use of the company’s products and their experience with the company. The Washington Examiner reported on Jan. 17 that the SEC accidentally revealed 650 names and email addresses in an email correspondence with Green during an ongoing investigation. The miners have pointed out that this leak could make the blockchain nodes that they operate, open to hackers.
“The Privacy Act of 1974 […] prohibits the disclosure without consent of information about individuals that the federal government maintains in a system of records,” the site added, “If we store information about you in a system of records from which we retrieve that information by personal identifier […] we will safeguard your information in accordance with the Privacy Act,” as per the SEC website.
Petition for Gensler’s Resignation
Notably, 18,873 people signed a petition calling for Gensler’s resignation in August of last year due to his involvement in the obstruction of justice involving Citadel Securities’ conduct. The petition summary asserts that Gary Gensler hasn’t taken any enforcement action despite Citadel’s standing as a market maker with dubious business practices.
Similar to that, the recent case involving the demise of the exchange FTX and Gensler’s handling of it has drawn attention. Congressman Pete Sessions alleged that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was “asleep at the wheel” and questioned how FTX Group and its affiliates satisfied the requirements for corporate and financial control.
The 6th congressional district of Minnesota’s attorney, Tom Emmer, demanded an explanation from SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on his unsuccessful “crypto information-gathering efforts.”
On the other hand, in 2022, the SEC also carried out a number of crackdowns against cryptocurrency enterprises, adopting what many detractors have referred to as a “regulation by enforcement” strategy. The financial regulator accused former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried of breaking securities laws in December.
Crypto Founders Turn Against SEC
The clash between SEC and Ripple has been one of the most notable battles in the crypto space which has been going on for a number of years. Additionally, the CEO of the cross-border payments company, Brad Garlinghouse, believes that the judgment should arrive “some time in the coming single-digit months,” possibly as soon as June. Interestingly, Garlinghouse stated that his firm will only settle on a going-forward basis and that the SEC needs to accept that XRP is not a security.
Interestingly, the Web3 Foundation, an organization responsible for supporting the development and fundraising of the Polkadot (DOT) network, also recently called out the agency and stated that it is not a security, contradicting SEC Chair Gensler’s statement, who believes that Bitcoin (BTC) is the only cryptocurrency that can be considered as a commodity.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
