Priority Open Recommendations: Securities and Exchange Commission
Fast Facts
Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help the federal government save money, address issues on our High Risk List, and significantly improve government operations.
This letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission outlines 1 open recommendation that it should prioritize. Bankruptcies and fraud involving blockchain-related products and services—e.g., cryptocurrencies—have raised concerns about consumer risk. SEC and the other financial regulators should coordinate how they identify and address such risk.
We regularly update priority recommendations here.
Highlights
What GAO Found
In August 2023, GAO identified one priority recommendation for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It calls for SEC and the other federal financial regulators to formally coordinate to address risks posed by blockchain technology. This would allow regulators to collectively identify the full range of risks posed by blockchain-related products and services and develop and implement a regulatory response in a timely manner.
As of May 2024, SEC has not implemented this priority recommendation.
Fully implementing this open recommendation could significantly improve SEC's ability to protect investors.
Why GAO Did This Study
Priority open recommendations are the GAO recommendations that warrant priority attention from heads of key departments or agencies because their implementation could save large amounts of money; improve congressional and/or executive branch decision-making on major issues; eliminate mismanagement, fraud, and abuse; or ensure that programs comply with laws and funds are legally spent, among other benefits. Since 2015, GAO has sent letters to selected agencies to highlight the importance of implementing such recommendations.
For more information, contact Daniel Garcia-Diaz at (202) 512-8678 or GarciaDiazD@gao.gov.