The post Just In: SEC Launches New Unit to Tackle Fraud in AI, Blockchain, and Crypto appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News
As part of its ongoing efforts to support digital assets, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled a new cyber unit focused on fighting cryptocurrency fraud. The agency announced the creation of the Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit (CETU) to focus on combatting cyber-related misconduct and to protect retail investors from bad actors in the emerging technologies space.
Notably, the CETU, led by Laura D’Allaird, replaces the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit and is comprised of approximately 30 fraud specialists and attorneys across multiple SEC offices.
“Under Laura’s leadership, this new unit will complement the work of the Crypto Task Force led by Commissioner Hester Peirce. Importantly, the new unit will also allow the SEC to deploy enforcement resources judiciously,” stated Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda.
The SEC’s new Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit (CETU) is designed to protect investors and promote innovation.
Key Focus Areas-
The unit will focus on stopping fraud involving emerging technologies like AI, blockchain, and crypto. Key areas include the use of AI and machine learning in fraud, scams on social media and the dark web, hacking for private information, retail brokerage account takeovers, fraud involving crypto and blockchain, cybersecurity compliance by regulated firms, and misleading cybersecurity reports from public companies. The goal is to keep the market safe while allowing new technologies to grow.
Besides, CETU will also coincide with work done by Republican Commissioner Hester Peirce within the newly created Crypto Task Force, Uyeda added. Peirce recently outlined her priorities for that task force, including classifying some tokens as “non-securities.”
The CETU doesn’t seem focused on cracking down on crypto projects for securities fraud. Instead, its main focus is on “fraud involving blockchain technology and crypto assets,” which is an important distinction. This suggests that the unit is more concerned with fraud where blockchain and digital assets are used in transactions, rather than labeling most digital assets as unregistered securities, like Chairman Gary Gensler has done.
A Complete Regulatory Shift
In recent years, the SEC has taken a tough approach towards the cryptocurrency sector, using a regulation-by-enforcement strategy that slowed the industry’s growth. However, in 2025, things changed with the election of pro-crypto President Donald Trump and a shift in policy. When establishing Peirce’s task force, the SEC noted that its goal was to steer the agency towards a sensible regulatory path that respects the bounds of the law.
Since January, the Commission has rescinded restrictive accounting guidelines (SAB 121), clarified crypto asset classification rules, and approved new spot crypto ETFs. These actions follow President Trump’s executive order on January 23, which calls for better coordination across agencies to support digital asset markets.
