Report: SEC inquiry revealed personal data of crypto miners

By: Henry Felix

January 18, 2023 2:12 AM

As part of their investigation, the financial regulator is said to have talked to blockchain company Green and given them 650 names and emails by accident.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may have given out the names and email addresses of many crypto miners who worked for blockchain company Green.

An investigation into Green's blockchain nodes was jeopardized on January 17 when the Washington Examiner reported that the SEC had included 650 names and email addresses in an email correspondence with Green. The financial regulator is said to have talked to customers of Green to find out how they use the company's services.

On the SEC website, it says, "The Privacy Act of 1974 says that information about people that the federal government keeps in a system of records can't be shared without the person's permission." If we keep your personal information in a database that can be searched using a personal identifier, we will protect it in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Centralized crypto exchanges have been a regular target for hackers looking to steal customer data; however, accidental breaches by government employees are said to be much less prevalent. In October, U.S. prosecutors charged two Chinese intelligence agents with trying to bribe a double agent with Bitcoin (BTC).

Several critics have said that the SEC's actions against cryptocurrency businesses in 2022 are an example of "regulation by enforcement." Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has been charged by multiple federal agencies with anti-fraud securities law offenses since December.