Today in crypto, SEC Chair Paul Atkins called for a coordinated approach between between his agency and the CFTC, a French couple was forced to transfer about $1 million in Bitcoin during a fake police home invasion, and the US has sought to retry Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm.
SEC chair calls for ‘coordinated oversight‘ between US regulators
Paul Atkins, chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said that an agreement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) would lead to a new level of “coordination and collaboration,” including on enforcement.
In a Tuesday speech for the FIA Global Cleared Markets Conference in Florida, Atkins said that the SEC and CFTC were considering an updated memorandum of understanding on coordination between the two federal regulators. The SEC chair did not explicitly mention oversight of digital assets, but said “the regrettable era of duplicative enforcement actions and conflicting remedial obligations for the same conduct is over.”
“Conduct in a single operating environment means that the SEC and CFTC, within the bounds of their independent statutory authority and regulatory interests, should coordinate legal theories and remedial strategies,” said Atkins. “Fragmented, redundant enforcement does not increase deterrence — it only increases confusion.”
French couple robbed of $1 million in Bitcoin by fake police
A French couple in their late 50s was forced to transfer over 900,000 euros ($1 million) in Bitcoin during a fake police raid at their home west of Paris in the latest violent attack targeting cryptocurrency holders in France, according to TF1 Info and Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Three suspects posing as police officers entered the couple’s home Monday morning in Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt, in the Yvelines department, and forced the husband to transfer the Bitcoin (BTC) while threatening the pair with a knife, according to TF1 Info and AFP. The attackers then tied up the man, injured both victims and fled in a white van, the reports said.
The woman later freed her husband and alerted neighbors at about 9:00 am local time, according to the reports. The Versailles prosecutor’s office said the case is being investigated by the Brigade for the Repression of Banditry on allegations including sequestration, armed robbery by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy. No arrests had been announced as of Tuesday.
US seeks Roman Storm retrial after mixed verdict
US prosecutors asked a Manhattan federal court on Monday for a retrial of crypto mixer Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm after a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on two charges at his trial last year.
US Attorney for Manhattan Jay Clayton requested a trial date in early October to retry Storm on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate sanctions.
In August, a jury convicted Storm of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, but was deadlocked on the money laundering and sanctions violation conspiracy charges, which has allowed prosecutors to retry those charges.
Storm had pleaded not guilty and asked the court in October to acquit him of the money transmitting charge, arguing prosecutors failed to prove he intended to help bad actors use Tornado Cash.
Storm posted on X that the retrial on the two counts could see him spend “up to 40 years in federal prison. For writing open-source code. For a protocol I don't control. For transactions I never touched” and accused prosecutors of trying him “with the hope of getting a different answer.”
