U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

What U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is an independent federal regulatory agency established in 1934 under the Securities Exchange Act, headquartered in Washington, D.C. It holds primary statutory responsibility for enforcing federal securities laws, regulating the securities industry, and overseeing capital markets in the United States, serving public companies, investment advisers, broker-dealers, securities exchanges, and retail investors. The agency's mission is to protect investors from misconduct, promote fairness and efficiency in markets, and facilitate capital formation.

The SEC's core operational assets include EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system) for public company filings, the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) for market surveillance, and the Investor.gov educational platform. More recently, the agency has extended its infrastructure into digital assets through the Crypto Task Force and Project Crypto, including the first approval of a blockchain-native clearing agency (Paxos Securities Settlement Company) and a No-Action Letter enabling DTCC's tokenization service for stocks, ETFs, and U.S. Treasuries. Other major initiatives include the SEC-CFTC Harmonization Initiative, Treasury Clearing Implementation, Market Structure Analytics, and the Whistleblower Program.

The SEC is funded by Congressional appropriations and fees collected from registrants — including registration and filing fees through EDGAR and disgorgement from enforcement actions — rather than commercial revenue. Under Chairman Paul Atkins (confirmed April 2025), the agency is pursuing a "Project Crypto" agenda, an "ACT Strategy" for enforcement, and modernization of digital asset and on-chain market regulations, while simultaneously operating under reduced budget and staffing with enforcement actions down 30% year-over-year in fiscal 2025.

Name

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Legal name

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Website

https://sec.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

1934

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is an independent federal regulatory agency established in 1934 that enforces federal securities laws, regulates the U.S. securities industry, and oversees capital markets to protect investors, promote market fairness, and facilitate capital formation across public companies, advisers, broker-dealers, exchanges, and retail investors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Securities Regulation

akta.pro primary industry

Financial Services Regulators (Banking, Securities, Insurance) (BPAIAOAK)

Keywords

• Securities regulation
• Investor protection
• Market surveillance
• Filing compliance
• Enforcement actions

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Registration and Filing Fees: The SEC collects fees from registrants for filing registration statements, annual reports, and other securities-related documentation through EDGAR
2. Enforcement Disgorgement: SEC recovers illegal profits through disgorgement from enforcement actions, upheld by Supreme Court June 2026 ruling

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is an independent federal regulatory agency that enforces federal securities laws, regulates the securities industry, and oversees the U.S. capital markets. Its core offerings include the EDGAR electronic filing system for corporate disclosures, rulemaking and guidance for market participants, enforcement actions and disgorgement of illegal profits, and investor education resources through Investor.gov.

Product overview

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is a federal regulatory agency, not a commercial product company. Its core offerings consist of regulatory infrastructure, filing systems, and investor protection resources. The primary systems include EDGAR for electronic securities filings, the Crypto Task Force for digital asset regulatory guidance, the SEC-CFTC Harmonization Initiative for cross-agency coordination, and Investor.gov for investor education. These offerings serve the agency's mission to protect investors, promote market fairness, and facilitate capital formation rather than functioning as commercial products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval System)

Quantifiable outcome

• SEC upheld by Supreme Court 9-0 to retain broad authority to recover illegal profits through disgorgement without proving victims suffered financial harm
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)coreTechnology or Integration · 30 June 2026SEC and CFTC entered into Memorandum of Understanding to align definitions, clarify oversight responsibilities, and reduce regulatory overlap for digital assets under Project Crypto initiative. Both agencies are coordinating on portfolio margining harmonization, derivatives product definitions, and security-based swaps oversight.
• Federal ReserveflagshipTechnology or Integration · 30 June 2026SEC Chairman collaborating with Federal Reserve on Basel III capital rules changes and tokenized bank deposits approval process as part of Project Crypto initiative.
• FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)flagshipTechnology or Integration · 30 June 2026SEC collaborating with FDIC on tokenized bank deposits and modernizing financial regulations through Project Crypto initiative.
• OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency)flagshipTechnology or Integration · 30 June 2026SEC working with OCC on Basel III capital rules and tokenized deposit frameworks under Project Crypto.
• New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA)minorOthers · 29 June 2026NCLA secured rescission of SEC's unconstitutional Gag Rule after 8 years of litigation, with the Supreme Court declining to hear the case after the SEC already rescinded the rule.
• SEC-CFTC Joint Consultation on Portfolio MarginingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 June 202660-day joint public consultation on harmonizing portfolio margining frameworks across securities and commodities derivatives markets, focusing on capital efficiency and risk treatment for institutions trading across both regulatory regimes.
• SEC-CFTC Joint Request for Derivatives Product DefinitionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2026Joint request for public comment on potential updates, clarifications, and harmonization of derivatives product definitions under Title VII of Dodd-Frank, covering swaps, security-based swaps, mixed swaps, and emerging products.
• SEC-CFTC Data Reporting HarmonizationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2026Joint request for public comment on harmonizing, modernizing, and streamlining data reporting requirements for swap and security-based swap markets, covering transparency, data quality, operational complexity, and standardized identifiers.
• National Futures Association (NFA)coreTechnology or Integration · 21 May 2026First direct formal coordination arrangement between SEC and NFA covering information sharing on examinations, financial market conditions, and coordinated examinations for entities dually registered across securities and derivatives markets.
• Registered Offering Reform InitiativeflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2026Comprehensive amendments proposed to reform registered offering framework under Securities Act of 1933, targeting capital formation, reduced regulatory burdens, and modernized registration and communication rules.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves16 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC): Federal regulator for U.S. derivatives, commodity, and futures markets. SEC and CFTC share Project Crypto oversight, harmonize derivatives definitions, and jointly oversee digital-asset classification under the CLARITY Act.
• FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority): Self-regulatory organization authorized by Congress and supervised by the SEC to oversee broker-dealers. Operates as the SEC's frontline examiner for trading conduct, registration, and market integrity.
• Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC): Federal agency that charters and supervises national banks. Partnered with SEC on Basel III capital rules and tokenized bank deposit frameworks under Project Crypto in 2026.
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC): Federal deposit insurer and bank supervisor. Collaborating with SEC on tokenized bank deposits and regulatory modernization under Project Crypto (2026 MOU).
• Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB): Congress-created oversight body for public-company auditors, established under Sarbanes-Oxley with SEC oversight. Direct counterpart on audit-quality enforcement, inspection findings, and cross-border audit inspection access.

Broad incumbents

• Federal Reserve Board: Central bank and primary banking supervisor. Collaborates with SEC on Basel III capital rules, tokenized bank deposits, and Project Crypto under a 2026 MOU, and has overlapping jurisdiction over systemically important financial institutions.
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): Federal consumer-finance regulator with overlapping jurisdiction over securities-adjacent products (e.g., crypto lending, BNPL). Frequently partners and sometimes conflicts with SEC on digital-asset and retail-investor protection.

Regional players

• UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA): Primary UK conduct regulator for financial services and markets. Comparable counterpart for SEC's cross-border enforcement cooperation, disclosure rules, and listings oversight; engages via OIA under Kathleen Hutchinson.
• European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA): EU securities regulator coordinating market oversight, prospectuses, and credit-rating agency supervision across member states. SEC's principal European coordination counterpart on AMF/BaFin/CME joint supervision and disclosure harmonization.

Others

• U.S. Department of the Treasury: Federal executive department with overlapping jurisdiction over capital markets via Treasury clearing implementation, OFAC sanctions enforcement, FSOC systemic-risk coordination, and the Office of Financial Research.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SEC_News
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/SECViews/videos
• Instagramsec.gov/newsroom/social-media
• Facebookfacebook.com/SECgov
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/secgov

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission