Top US SEC Executive Quits After 9 Years Of Service

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After almost nine years of service with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), David Hirsch decided that it was time to take a bow.

Exodus of Staff From The U.S. SEC

Prior to this time, Hirsch worked as the regulator’s head of the Crypto Asset and Cyber Unit in the Division of Enforcement. He took to the business and employment-focused social media platform LinkedIn to announce his departure from SEC. According to the former SEC executive, Friday, June 14 marked his last day with the agency after nine years of being a major part of the team.

Notably, Hirsch served as a legal advisory board member at the NYU Center of Cybersecurity.

During his time with the SEC, Hirsch admitted to getting the opportunity to work on more complex, challenging investigations and issues which he never imagined to be a part of. His journey with the agency began as a staff attorney in the Fort Worth Regional Office. He continued with the SEC until he attained the position of the head of the SEC’s Crypto Asset and Cyber Unit.

The SEC former SEC executive applauded the work done by his unit, describing it as “historic.” While he didn’t state the reason for his resignation, he promised to disclose his future plans after taking a short break.

Similarly, Ladan Stewart, a former lawyer known for litigating high-profile cases against Ripple and Coinbase, resigned from the SEC’s enforcement division after eight years. Upon resigning, Stewart joined the White & Case LLP as a partner.

Absurd Monetary Requests In Fines

Owing to the exodus of staff from the agency, SEC Chair Gary Gensler had earlier requested an unprecedented $2.4 billion for the agency. He plans to expand the staff by 170 positions, particularly in the crypto and cyber unit.

These departures have in no wise deterred the Commission from discharging its duties, rather it has intensified effort towards pushing out crypto firms that violate federal securities law.

The regulator recently requested that Terraform Labs and its embattled founder Do Kwon pay $3.58 billion in disgorgement and $420 million in a civil penalty. The fine amounted to a total of $4.47 billion. Unfortunately for the crypto company, it barely has $75 million in Assets Under Management (AUM) to pay such a massive amount in fines.

Blockchain payments firm Ripple also argued that the $2 billion fine that the regulator is requesting from it is quite huge.

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