SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is requesting additional funding for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to protect investors against a crypto industry rife with noncompliance. Gensler told the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations that the agency needs an additional $72 million to add dozens of additional full-time staff members to its roster. We’ve seen the Wild West of the crypto markets, rife with noncompliance, where investors have put hard-earned assets at risk in a highly speculative asset class, Gensler said.
The SEC is currently funded at $2.364 billion for fiscal year 2024, which is just enough to support currently authorized staffing levels given inflation, according to Gensler. The additional funding would help the agency add 170 positions to its teams, in addition to providing full-year funding for staff members hired in 2023, potentially bringing the SEC’s total full-time equivalent to 5,139 employees.
With funding to meet the scale of our mission, we can be an even stronger advocate for the American public—investors and issuers alike, Gensler said. Stamping out fraud, manipulation, and abuse lowers risk in the system.