As such, the ex-official said, Kardashian's fine doesn't necessarily signal a change in direction for the SEC but does mark a stronger stance than the one the agency took five years ago. — Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue/TNS
"The SEC aims to bring enforcement actions... that will get widespread attention and influence market participants' conduct going forward," said Philip Moustakis, counsel at the law firm Seward & Kissel."Naturally, an action against Kim Kardashian is ideal for these purposes." Floyd Mayweather Jr. and DJ Khaled both were charged in 2018 for not disclosing that they'd been paid to promote various crypto investments, and in 2020, the same thing happened to Steven Seagal.
"By bringing this case, has basically said, 'Look, you all got fair warning. Now we're bringing a case,'" the former official, who asked to remain anonymous to protect their relationship with former colleagues, toldIt can be hard to talk about crypto without mentioning the sometimes-bizarre overlap that the still relatively niche financial technology has with the entertainment industry.
"The SEC, and regulators globally, often key in on what they call asymmetric information — when one person knows something others don't, and which makes an otherwise fair transaction a case of potential manipulation," Mike Castiglione, the director of regulatory affairs for digital assets at the regulatory compliance company Eventus, said via email.