Cryptocurrency exchanges should take note that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will pursue enforcement actions against platforms operating outside of the SEC's regulatory framework, Chair Gary Gensler told MarketWatch in an interview. Some "90% to 95% of the activity in the lending and trading of crypto happens on a platform," Gensler said. And activity centralized on these platforms need investor protection, market integrity, and anti-manipulation rules that apply to other financial markets, he said. "I think the problem is, right now, the public isn't well protected and there's a lot of folks who are going to get hurt," Gensler added. The SEC showed its serious in its actions against BlockFi, which was offering a high-interest crypto lending product, but hadn't registered it as a security. On Monday, BlockiFi agreed to pay $100M to the SEC and state regulators to resolve charges against the company. Last week, the SEC issued
