SEC Requests Bigger Budget to Tackle ‘Wild West of the Crypto Markets’

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler supports the White House’s budget request for the stock market watchdog. He warned, however, that the funds appropriated are tens of millions of dollars less than what his federal agency originally requested for the upcoming fiscal year.
The Senate Appropriations Committee appropriated $2.4 billion to the SEC. This was $194 million more than fiscal year 2023, although but nearly $73 million less than Mr. Gensler’s initial proposal. This, Mr. Gensler told lawmakers, would prevent the SEC from keeping up with the various market challenges present today.
He explained during a July 19 Senate Appropriations Committee hearing that the SEC’s fiscal year 2024 request would ensure the agency’s Examinations Division personnel would increase to 1,144 full-time examiners. While the agency is 3 percent larger than it was in 2017, Mr. Gensler noted that financial markets have grown exponentially during that span….}