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GAO-25-108049 1 (May 15, 2025)

handle is hein.gao/ptyonrmdnssc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: G A Oi U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Comptroller General Washington, DC 20548 of the United States May 15, 2025 The Honorable Paul S. Atkins Chairman Securities and Exchange Commission 100 F Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20549 Priority Open Recommendations: Securities and Exchange Commission Dear Mr. Chairman: Congratulations on your appointment. The purpose of this letter is to call your personal attention to our open priority recommendation for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is enclosed.1 Additionally, there is one other open GAO recommendation that we will continue to work with your staff to address.2 We are highlighting the following area that warrants your timely and focused attention. Specifically: Blockchain technology. In 2023, we found that financial regulators lacked an ongoing coordination mechanism for addressing blockchain risks in a timely manner. For example, regulators identified financial stability risks posed by stablecoins in 2019 but did not identify the need for action to address these risks until November 2021. We recommended that SEC and the other federal financial regulators jointly establish or adapt an existing formal coordination mechanism to identify and address risks posed by blockchain-related products and services. Such a mechanism would help SEC and the other regulators collectively identify risks and develop and implement a regulatory response in a timely manner. Please see Enclosure 1 for additional details about the status and actions needed to fully implement this recommendation. We also provide in Enclosure 2 additional information on SEC's recommendation implementation rate, as well as implemented and closed recommendations since our May 2024 letter to Chairman Gensler. The enclosure also discusses relevant management challenges from our High-Risk List that apply to SEC. Additionally, in response to legislation enacted in December 2022, the enclosure includes information on any additional congressional oversight 1GAO considers a recommendation to be a priority if, when implemented, it may significantly improve government operations-for example, by realizing large dollar savings; eliminating mismanagement, fraud, and abuse; or making progress toward addressing a high-risk or duplication issue. 21n February 2025, GAO recommended that SEC and five other agencies jointly prescribe regulations or guidelines for incentive-based payment arrangements. GAO, Bank Regulation: Agencies Should Finalize Rulemaking on Incentive Compensation, GAO-25-107032 (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 20, 2025). GAO-25-108049 Page 1

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