US regulators are struggling to rein in illegal cryptocurrency offerings

Regulators are in uncharted territory trying to regulate illegal cryptocurrency public coin offerings, US officials told Congress today. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman John Clayton had harsh words for those dodging SEC regulations today at a Senate banking committee hearing: “Many ICOs [initial coin offerings] are being conducted illegally. Their promoters and other participants are not following our security laws,” Clayton said. “Some people say that’s because the law isn’t clear. I do not buy that for a moment.”