Investors are loving SEC’s crypto industry crackdown, according to survey

Critics have called out the SEC’s “regulation by enforcement” tactics, but to some investors, it’s a positive sign they’re seeing to invest in digital assets.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) more-than-enthusiastic crackdown on the crypto industry is being seen as a positive signal for the majority of crypto investors, according to a new survey. 

Around 60% of 564 survey respondents in the latest MLIV Pulse survey from Bloomberg said they viewed the recent flurry of crypto crackdowns as a positive sign for investing in the asset class.

Around 65% of retail investors signaled they were “more likely” to invest with “greater enforcement against crypto” compared to 56% of professional investors.

Conversely, only 35% of retail and 44% of professional investors said they would be “less likely” to invest as a result of more enforcement action.

The U.S. SEC has stepped up its actions over the past months, with high-profile investigations of bankrupt crypto companies Celsius Network, and Three Arrows Capital along with a reported probe into Yuga Labs and the wider nonfungible token (NFT) space.

It also famously fined reality television star Kim Kardashian to the tune of $1.26 million for promoting the EthereumMAX cryptocurrency without proper disclosures.

The investor sentiment appears to run in contrast to many U.S. lawmakers and crypto industry participants, who have repeatedly criticized the SEC for taking what they call a “regulation by enforcement” approach to cryptocurrencies.

Gurbir Grewal, the SEC’s enforcement director said in September it will investigate crypto firms regardless of the narrative that it’s “stifling innovation.”

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The SEC has also boosted its ability to handle specialized issuer filings by adding an Office of Crypto Assets in September purely focused on dealing with crypto asset applications and services.

Despite the interest gained from investors by the crypto crackdowns, the market conditions have seen many major cryptocurrencies sit within a tight price band for months and around 43% of survey respondents said they would increase their crypto exposure over the next 12 months.