A Ponzi scheme is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors. Named after Italian businessman Charles Ponzi,this type of scheme misleads investors by either falsely suggesting that profits are derived from legitimate business activities,or by exaggerating the extent and profitability of the legitimate business activities,leveraging new investments to fabricate or supplement these profits. A Ponzi scheme can maintain the illusion of a sustainable business as long as investors continue to contribute new funds,and as long as most of the investors do not demand full repayment or lose faith in the non-existent assets they are purported to own.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government,created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market manipulation.
Arthur Levitt Jr. is the former chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He served from 1993 to 2001 as the twenty-fifth and longest-serving chairman of the commission. Widely hailed as a champion of the individual investor,he has been criticized for not pushing for tougher accounting rules. Since May 2001 he has been employed as a senior adviser at the Carlyle Group. Levitt previously served as a policy advisor to Goldman Sachs and is a Director of Bloomberg LP,parent of Bloomberg News.
Gary S. Gensler is an American government official and former investment banker serving as the chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Gensler previously worked for Goldman Sachs and has led the Biden–Harris transition's Federal Reserve,Banking,and Securities Regulators agency review team. Prior to his appointment,he was professor of Practice of Global Economics and Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Richard C. Breeden is a former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,hedge fund manager,and corporate chairman.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is the agency of the government of the Philippines charged with the registration and supervision of corporations and securities,as well as capital market institutions and participants,in the Philippines. The commission promotes investor protection in the Philippines as part of its mandate.
Annette LaPorte Nazareth is an American attorney who served as a Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from August 4,2005 to January 31,2008. She is currently a partner at Davis Polk &Wardwell,where she works on regulatory matters and transactions in the firm's Washington,D.C. office. In 2021,she was appointed as Co-Chair of the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market. and in 2024 as a Freeman of London.
Luis Alberto Aguilar is an American lawyer and former U.S. government official.
Troy A. Paredes served as a Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from August 1,2008,to August 3,2013. Commissioner Paredes was appointed to the SEC by President George W. Bush on June 30,2008 to replace Paul S. Atkins,a Republican commissioner,who was retiring at the end of his term. Paredes was replaced by Michael Piwowar who was sworn in on August 15,2013.
Elisse B. Walter was the 30th Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from December 14,2012 –April 10,2013. She was appointed chair by President Barack Obama on November 26,2012,and sworn in on December 14,2012. She was originally appointed as one of five SEC Commissioners by President George W. Bush and sworn in on July 9,2008. Under designation by President Obama,she later served as Acting Chair during January 2009. She served as a Commissioner of the SEC until August 9,2013.
David George Nason is an American lawyer,government official and corporate executive from Washington,DC. He served as the president and CEO of GE Energy Financial Services,a unit of General Electric (GE) from 2013 to 2018. Previously at GE,he was the Chief Regulatory Officer and Compliance Leader at GE Capital. Nason is one of 190 GE officers globally. From 2005–2009 he served as Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions under Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson,during which time he was a key architect of the federal government's response to the financial crisis of 2008.
Richard H. Walker is an American lawyer. He is former general counsel of corporate and investment banking at Deutsche Bank and former director of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),Division of Enforcement,where he worked for ten years. Before working at the SEC,Walker was a partner at Cadwalader,Wickersham &Taft.
A cryptocurrency,crypto-currency,or crypto is a digital currency designed to work through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority,such as a government or bank,to uphold or maintain it.
Daniel M. Gallagher,Jr. is an American lawyer who served as a Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from 2011 to 2015. Gallagher was appointed to the SEC by President Barack Obama. He also previously served as the deputy director and co-acting director of the Division of Trading and Markets.
J. Christopher Giancarlo is an American attorney and former business executive who served as 13th chairman of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Giancarlo was sworn in as a CFTC commissioner on June 16,2014,for a term expiring on April 13,2019. Starting on January 20,2017,with President Donald Trump's inauguration,Giancarlo began serving as acting chair of the CFTC. In March 2017,the president nominated Giancarlo to be full-time chair of the commission. Giancarlo was confirmed as chairman of the commission by the United States Senate on August 3,2017.
Walter Joseph "Jay" Clayton III is an American attorney who was the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from May 4,2017,until December 23,2020. He was nominated for the position by President Donald Trump. Clayton was selected on November 14,2024,by President elect Trump to be United States attorney for the Southern District of New York.
An initial coin offering (ICO) or initial currency offering is a type of funding using cryptocurrencies. It is often a form of crowdfunding,although a private ICO which does not seek public investment is also possible. In an ICO,a quantity of cryptocurrency is sold in the form of "tokens" ("coins") to speculators or investors,in exchange for legal tender or other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ether. The tokens are promoted as future functional units of currency if or when the ICO's funding goal is met and the project successfully launches.
Hester Maria Peirce is an American lawyer who serves as a Commissioner on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). She previously served as the director of the Financial Markets Working Group at George Mason University's Mercatus Center. Peirce was confirmed by the United States Senate in December 2017 to fill a Republican vacancy on the SEC. She was sworn in on January 11,2018,for a term ending in 2020,and her second term expires in 2025. Peirce is a former staff member of the United States Senate Committee on Banking,Housing,and Urban Affairs and of the SEC. In 2016,she was nominated by President Barack Obama for Commissioner on the SEC,but the United States Senate did not act on her nomination.
Kathleen M. Hamm is an American lawyer,federal regulator and fintech and cybersecurity expert,formerly a board member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board,and Counselor to the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury for cyber policy and financial regulation. In April 2021,her alma mater,University at Buffalo School of Management,named her Accountant of the Year.
An Initial exchange offering (IEO) is the cryptocurrency exchange equivalent to a stock launch or Initial public offering (IPO). An IEO is the process of digital asset procurement through an established exchange for the purpose of raising capital for start-up companies. Exchanges act as a middleman between investors and the startup,profiting from fees generated by services rendered during the due diligence process and funding phase. IEO's and initial coin offerings (ICO) share similar characteristics with,however,an IEO can be seen as an evolution from the ICO due to legal influence and an increase in financial regulations within the cryptocurrency market.
