US SEC tightens scrutiny of auditors’ crypto work – WSJ

Dec 22 (Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is stepping up scrutiny of the work of audit firms for cryptocurrency companies, a senior regulator official told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

“We caution investors to beware of some of the claims made by crypto companies,” said Paul Munter, acting chief accounting officer of the SEC. in an interview with the magazine.

The SEC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters on the report.

The development comes as the FTX implosion has spread across the industry, hampering liquidity for companies exposed to what was once one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, and has prompted investigations from the from regulators in several countries.

FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in the US last month and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried resigned as chief executive, after rival exchange Binance pulled out of a proposed acquisition . Read more

Several crypto firms have since braced for the fallout from FTX’s collapse, with many counting their exposure in the millions to the embattled exchange.

Reporting by Manya Saini in Bangalore; Editing by Shailesh Kuber

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