Gurbir Grewal claimed that the SEC’s standard for determining what a security is under the Howey test had been “clearly and consistently applied.”
Gurbir Grewal, the director of the Division of Enforcement at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has pushed back against criticism that the regulator is making up rules on crypto as it goes.
In prepared remarks for an SEC Speaks event on April 3, Grewal claimed that companies in the crypto industry had made “many creative attempts” to avoid the commission’s jurisdiction by continuing to operate in the United States. He also addressed concerns that the SEC was “recklessly exceeding” its authority or “regulating by enforcement” in lawsuits brought against crypto firms.
Grewal pointed to Sam Bankman-Fried as an example of the need for enforcement cases. On March 28, the former FTX CEO was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for defrauding investors of the crypto exchange, including “people who were forced to sell their home, their car, or take on a second job to make up for their losses.”
