Investors in the crypto industry have long been wary of attempts by the authorities to discourage people from committing their funds in the sector. Various government authorities across the world have warned their citizens numerous times about the alleged dangers of putting their funds in cryptos. Apparently, digital assets are uncertain and very volatile and people should be careful with them.
However, it appears that these warnings are falling on deaf ears. More and more shrewd investors are getting into the crypto spaces and putting in a lot of funds. This is especially the case in the United States where the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) has been going after crypto entities with total abandon. Professional investors have chosen to ignore efforts by the regulatory body to stifle the growth of the industry.
65% of retail investors are into crypto
According a 2021 report released by Bloomberg, upwards of 65% of retail investors are in favor of crypto investments. The report was derived from a survey that involved 564 respondents from across the country.
A separate survey by Bloomberg established that around 56% of investors are still willing to commit their funds to crypto investments, even with increased crackdowns by the SEC. About 44% said they would choose to stay away from the sector amid heightened legal action by the authorities targeting the industry. Basically, this goes to show that there are more people bold enough to get into the industry than there are that want to wait it out for it to be fully regulated.
SEC has intensified crackdowns
True to facts, the US SEC has intensified its ongoing crack down on various crypto-related entities of late. Two of them are Three Arrows Capital (3AC) and Celsius. The authorities want to establish what exactly led to the collapse of the lending and investment firms. In the NFTs front, authorities are currently investigating Yuga Labs, the firm responsible for the popular NFTs dubbed Bored Apes over suspected violation of some security rules. The SEC has already been embroiled in a messy courtroom battle with Ripple, the creator of XRP.
On the positive side, the crackdowns are a n effort to weed out bad actors from the industry and create a secure environment for investments as well as prevent scams and money laundering. On the negative side, the crackdowns instill some level of fear in investors who see investments in the space as uncertain since the authorities may cause any targeted investment vehicles to go out of business any time.
There’s a need for clear regulatory policies
Granted, everyone in the crypto space is of the opinion that the industry desperately needs proper regulatory policies to help it grow. Various top government officials have reiterated this sentiment, although not much action has been taken to realize this goal since cryptos became popular years ago.
However, this may now change as the US President himself seems interested in making some changes in the sector. Back in March, President Joe Biden purposed to sign an executive order directing relevant authorities to start researching and formulating effective regulatory frameworks for the crypto industry.
SEC accused of sabotaging the crypto industry
For years, a lot of investors and other industry players have complained that lack of proper legal policies to govern the space was a huge impediment to the growth of the sector. Many have demanded for the SEC to rise up to eh occasion and regulate the industry. However, the SEC has largely avoided this said duty, often issuing vague statements with many gray areas about the industry.
Also, the apparent actions by the body to target some crypto entities like Ripple has set it against many industry enthusiasts who see the actions as an attempt to sabotage the industry.
