Dan Berkovitz, normal counsel for the USA Securities and Alternate Fee, stated he will probably be leaving the company after greater than a 12 months.

In a Dec. 22 announcement, the SEC said Berkovitz will depart on Jan. 31. A former commissioner with the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee, Berkovitz joined the company in November 2021. On the time, he stated he deliberate to work with SEC chair Gary Gensler on a “regulatory agenda that may improve investor safety.”

“After thirty-four years of public service, it’s time for me to pursue new and totally different challenges and alternatives,” stated Berkovitz.

It is unclear whetherBerkovitz intends to affix the non-public sector after leaving the SEC.Brian Quintenz, who served as a CFTC commissioner from 2017 to 2021, joinedventure capital agency Andreessen Horowitz in September 2021 as an advisor to the corporate’s crypto group.

Megan Barbero, the SEC principal deputy normal counsel, will assume Berkovitz’s place upon his departure. Gensler stated her development got here at a “important time” for the SEC.

Throughout his time on the CFTC, Berkovitz stated the company’s enforcement actions within the crypto area had been “aggressive,” citing a $100 million civil financial penalty in opposition to derivatives trade BitMEX. Many have additionally criticized Gensler and the SEC for the company’s “regulation by enforcement” strategy to crypto.

SEC information unregistered securities prices in opposition to Thor Token creators for 2018 ICO

In 2022, the SEC particularly labeled 9 tokens as “crypto asset securities” in an insider buying and selling case involving a former supervisor at crypto trade Coinbase. The company has additionally introduced prices in opposition to former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried for allegedly defrauding clients and diverting the trade’s funds to Alameda.