{"id":15795,"date":"2022-12-23T21:12:59","date_gmt":"2022-12-23T21:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/sec-heightens-probe-into-auditors-servicing-crypto-exchanges-bitcoin-news\/"},"modified":"2022-12-23T21:12:59","modified_gmt":"2022-12-23T21:12:59","slug":"sec-heightens-probe-into-auditors-servicing-crypto-exchanges-bitcoin-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/sec-heightens-probe-into-auditors-servicing-crypto-exchanges-bitcoin-news\/","title":{"rendered":"SEC Heightens Probe Into Auditors Servicing Crypto Exchanges \u2013 Bitcoin News"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b>
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According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission\u2019s Paul Munter, the agency\u2019s acting chief accountant, the U.S. regulator is monitoring proof-of-reserves (POR) more closely. \u201cWe\u2019re warning investors to be very wary of some of the claims that are being made by crypto companies,\u201d Munter explained to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Dec. 22.<\/strong><\/p>\n

SEC Official Warns Investors Should Be \u2018Wary\u2019 of Proof-of-Reserve Audits and Crypto Exchange Claims<\/h2>\n

U.S. regulators, and more specifically the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), are looking more closely at proof-of-reserves (POR) these days following the collapse of FTX. Speaking<\/a> with the WSJ on Thursday, SEC\u2019s acting chief accountant, Paul Munter, explained that investors should not put much faith in POR audits and claims. SEC is concerned that investors \u201cmay be getting a false sense of reassurance from the firms\u2019 reports,\u201d the WSJ report detailed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re warning investors to be very wary of some of the claims that are being made by crypto companies,\u201d Munter explained. \u201cInvestors should not place too much confidence in the mere fact a company says it\u2019s got a proof-of-reserves from an audit firm,\u201d the SEC accountant stressed. Munter continued:<\/p>\n

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[A POR audit] is not enough information for an investor to assess whether the company has sufficient assets to cover its liabilities.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The commentary from Munter follows the POR concept gaining traction<\/a> among crypto exchanges since FTX collapsed. Companies like Okx, Binance, Crypto.com, Huobi, and others have released POR audits but some were met with controversy<\/a>. Furthermore, on Dec. 16, Bitcoin.com News reported<\/a> on the accounting agency Mazars Group after it revealed it would no longer provide crypto exchange audits. Binance\u2019s POR audit completed by Mazars was also removed from the web.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are increasing our understanding of what\u2019s going on in the marketplace,\u201d Munter told the WSJ. \u201cIf we find fact patterns that we think are troublesome, we will consider a referral to the division of enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, after Mazars Group said it would not offer POR audits to crypto exchanges, a spokesperson for the auditing firm BDO said<\/a> that week it is contemplating which kinds of customers to take on. University of Texas professor Jeffrey Johanns believes auditing firms are doing the right thing by being reluctant to offer crypto firms auditing services. \u201cThe Big Four firms have\u2026rightly decided the risks [of auditing crypto companies] are extremely high,\u201d Johanns told the WSJ.<\/p>\n

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accountancy firms<\/a>, auditing crypto firms<\/a>, auditing firms<\/a>, audits<\/a>, BDO<\/a>, Big Four firms<\/a>, BTC Reserves<\/a>, chief accountant<\/a>, crypto exchanges<\/a>, ETH Reserves<\/a>, Exchange Reserves<\/a>, Jeffrey Johanns<\/a>, Mazars Group<\/a>, PoR<\/a>, POR audits<\/a>, SEC<\/a>, SEC inquiry<\/a>, sec investigation<\/a>, SEC probe<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What do you think about the SEC\u2019s acting chief accountant and his comments about POR audits? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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\nJamie Redman <\/h6>\n

\nJamie Redman is the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News and a financial tech journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open-source code, and decentralized applications. Since September 2015, Redman has written more than 6,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today.

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Image Credits<\/b>: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons<\/em><\/p>\n

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