He added that they observed that cryptocurrencies have caused potential or enough harm to consumers. Spencer said, “It’s an area that we want to approach with extreme caution.”
Cryptocurrency market under regulatory scrutiny
Currently, the cryptocurrency market is fragmented, largely unregulated, and wildly volatile.” Investors in the market should be ready to “stomach complete losses,” said BlackRock’s Richard Turnbill in his report last month.
Aside from Turnbill, many other market experts warned about investing in bitcoin and other digital currencies. Billionaire investor Paul Singer called cryptocurrencies as “one of the most brilliant scams in history.”
In fact, cybercriminals have been increasingly targeting bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies through hacking, ransomware, and scams. Over the past several months, the cryptocurrency market has been facing regulatory crackdown.
In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently launched an investigation into the cryptocurrency market. The regulator’s inquiry is focused on ICOs. Technology companies and advisors involved in the digital currency market received subpoenas from the regulator.