Jina Choi spoke to Agenda about the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission doubling down on ESG and cybersecurity, with final rules on both issues forthcoming from the agency following the release of a strategic plan covering the next four years.

The 2022-2026 plan mentioned cryptocurrency as an "evolutionary risk" that the commission must "continue to enhance its expertise in, and devote increased resources to." According to Jina, the reference was a divergence from the commission's 2018-2022 strategic plan.

"Unlike Chairman Gensler's 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, the 2018 Plan did not mention crypto assets, nor did it identify particular types of securities fraud – like accounting frauds, insider trading or deceptive conduct by registered and private funds," Jina said. She added that the recent plan highlighted the enforcement programs as well as rulemaking, "reinforcing what we've already seen – an active and aggressive enforcement and rulemaking agenda."

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