Crypto news

A group of Democrats from the U.S. House of Representatives has sent an official letter to SEC Chairman Paul Atkins. The focus is on the lack of regulation for AI agents that are already actively used by retail investors to automate trades. These are systems that make investment decisions on behalf of the user while remaining outside the legal framework.

The authors of the letter — Congressmen Bill Foster and Brad Sherman — directly state that such services undermine market integrity. Algorithm developers and brokers, in their view, evade responsibility, even though they shape trading strategies. The politicians emphasize that AI firms operate outside securities laws, creating risks for conflicts of interest and market manipulation.

"AI companies function outside the regulatory field. It is important that technology does not turn into a tool for hidden manipulation or circumventing the law," the letter notes.

The catalyst for action was the sharp rise in popularity of AI assistants in the crypto industry. In early June, the Coinbase exchange launched its own virtual assistant that provides trading recommendations. Congressmen point out that such platforms often disclaim responsibility for the accuracy of forecasts, citing the algorithmic nature of decisions.

The lawmakers demand that the SEC provide detailed answers to three key questions by July 31:

• What protective mechanisms are already applied to AI agents?
• In which cases are such bots required to undergo registration?
• Does the SEC have sufficient authority to oversee the sector, or is Congressional intervention necessary?

Earlier, in June, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for stricter oversight of AI models.

Analyst comment: AI trading is not the future, but already a reality. However, the lack of clear rules of the game creates a "gray zone" where the risk for retail investors grows exponentially. If the SEC does not take control of this sector, we risk a new wave of manipulation comparable to the era of unsupervised ICOs.