The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) replaces crypto assets and cyber units with newly formed Cyber and Emerging Technology Units (CETUs), changing approaches to regulating digital assets and combating cyber-responsive financial crime. It’s continuing.
The unit, announced on February 20th, will focus on dealing with fraud, including artificial intelligence, blockchain fraud, social media manipulation and cybersecurity compliance failures.
Leadership and Operational Framework
Laura Dalayard, formerly deputy director of the SEC executive, will lead CETU as the first chief. The unit consists of 30 lawyers and fraud experts from a 9-second regional office, and integrates expertise in fintech, cybersecurity and digital asset markets..
Acting SEC Chair Mark Ueda emphasized that CETU will work with Commissioner Hester Perth’s Cryptographic Task Force to “sensibly deploy enforcement resources” while fostering innovation.. Uyeda continued,
“This unit not only protects investors, but also promotes capital formation and market efficiency by clearing the way innovation grows. It will exploit innovation to harm investors. It will eradicate those who are saying that and reduce trust in new technologies.”
CETU’s mandate covers six areas: AI-driven fraud schemes, dark web and social media manipulation, hacking of material private information, acquisition of securities acquisitions, crypto asset-related fraud and cybersecurity rules compliance. It’s prioritized.
This structure reflects lessons learned from well-known enforcement actions under former chairman Gary Gensler under aggressive litigation strategies against companies such as Coinbase and Ripple..
From hostile enforcement to framework construction
The creation of CETU coincides with the broader SEC reforms launched under the Trump administration. Since January, the committee has withdrawn its restrictive accounting guidelines (SAB 121), clarified the crypto asset classification rules, and approved the new Spot Crypto ETF. These changes require inter-ministerial coordination through the Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, following President Trump’s January 23 executive order.
These changes, consistent with the Trump administration’s priorities, position the US as a blockchain innovation leader and counteract foreign CBDC development through private stubcoin promotions.
CETU hopefully does its SEC’s efforts to address evolving technological risks without thwarting financial innovation.
By combining cyber expertise with sophisticated regulatory parameters, the committee aims to mitigate threats like AI-driven market manipulation while enabling institutional participation in the digital asset market. This dual focus on security and growth reflects Washington’s awareness of the irreversible integration of blockchain technology into global finance.
In particular, CETU does not appear to have any obligation to crack down on recognized securities fraud by crypto projects. Instead, it focuses on “scams that include blockchain technology and crypto assets.”
Rather than defining almost all digital assets as unregistered security, fraud can be interpreted as the focus of blockchain and digital assets being used as transactional media, according to Gensler.
