Former SEC attorney warns investors: Get out of crypto platforms now

(Kitco News) - John Reed Stark, a former attorney for the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has issued a stark warning to crypto investors in the wake of the regulator's lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance: “Get out of crypto platforms now, I can't say it any plainer.”

Stark made his plea via Twitter on Thursday. “Having worked as an attorney in the SEC Enforcement Division for almost 20 years (including 11 years as Chief of the SEC Office of Internet Enforcement), I believe that we now know for certain that crypto trading platforms are under a U.S. regulatory/law enforcement siege which has only just begun,” he said.

In an effort to get past the expected pushback, Stark noted that he is “typically an outspoken and dedicated SEC critic,” has “no stake of any kind in the cryptoverse,” and is “100% objective, independent and neutral.”

From there, Stark went on to say what many in the industry have been trying to avoid: “My take is that the SEC is spot-on with their crypto-related enforcement efforts. No matter what the carnival barkers promise, it is axiomatic that crypto trading platforms are high-risk, perilous and inherently unsafe.”