The US Securities and Exchange Commission published new guidance on Thursday, requiring companies who issue securities to make investors aware of their risks and exposure to the cryptocurrency market. This announcement follows the filing for bankruptcy of FTX, the world’s largest crypto exchange, last month. Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, had lent out customer funds to a venture trading business he had founded. Over 100,000 customers were affected by this.
On Wednesday, SEC chair Gary Gensler rejected claims that the agency had not done enough to prevent crypto firms from misappropriating client funds. Gensler further suggested that further enforcement action may be taken against firms that do not comply with current regulations.
Under the new guidance, firms are now required to include information about their crypto asset holdings and their exposure to the FTX bankruptcy in their public filings, as the latter’s bankruptcy indicates that it has over 1 million creditors. The SEC’s Corporate Finance division has issued a sample letter, directing companies to include disclosures regarding the effects of the bankruptcy on the business, their financial condition, customers, and counterparties. It also requests them to explain any material risks they may be facing due to excessive redemptions of crypto assets, as well as any material concentration of risks and quantified exposure.
The Corporate Finance division further advised companies to use the suggested material when preparing documents that may not normally be subject to their review before use.