SEC Chief Of Department For Crypto Leaves Commission

Robert A. Cohen is the head of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Enforcement’s Cyber Unit, or rather Cohen is the former head as he just stepped down from his role at the SEC. 

The official announcement, posted on the SEC’s website states that Cohen has served as the first chief of the Cyber Unit since its inception in 2017.

The Cyber Unit is in charge of securities violations pertaining to cryptocurrency and digital assets, in addition to cyber-related trading violations and cybersecurity disclosures and procedures.

During his time at the SEC, Cohen looked over multiple investigations including a lawsuit against the social startup Kik, for running an unregistered $100 million token offering, as well as dealing with the whole fiasco with the musician DJ Khaled and the boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. who both unlawfully advertised an initial coin offering on their social platforms like Instagram.

The co-director of the Cyber Unit Division of Enforcement’s, Steven Peikin has spoken on Cohen’s work as the chief of the body, saying:

“Rob has been a true leader in the Enforcement Division. We relied on Rob to lead the Cyber Unit because of his record of handling complex, high priority enforcement cases with both toughness and fairness, while also mentoring and training countless SEC attorneys and supervisors.

The Cyber Unit has been a great success under Rob's strategic leadership [...] Soon after its creation, the Cyber Unit immediately began filing impactful cases that protect investors and demonstrate the SEC's ability to respond nimbly to new and difficult challenges.”

Speaking on leaving the commission, Cohen said:

"It has been a privilege working with great colleagues at the SEC, whom I cannot thank enough for their commitment, perseverance, and friendship. I am proud of our work together, which has had a strong and positive impact for investors."

Green Lit Token Offerings

Reports have surfaced recently in regards to the SEC giving the blockchain-based startup, Blockstack the green light to the issue a $28 million public token offering under Regulation A+ which apparently was the first for token offerings. The founders of Blockstack, Muneeb Ali and Ryan Shea have highlighted that the company took around ten months and $2 million to get approved from the SEC.

The SEC also approved gaming-related token offerings, saying that they didn’t reach the levels to qualify as a security.