According to Odaily Planet Daily, the founder of BlockTower Capital said that the SEC's actions against venture capital mean that the agency is expanding its crackdown on cryptocurrencies. Chief Investment Officer Ari Paul said on the Unchained podcast that the SEC has launched 'a series of investigations into venture capital firms as unregistered securities dealers.' Discounted token deals reached by some venture capital firms with cryptocurrency projects have caused them to violate the regulator's strict securities laws, and this development would mark the latest escalation in the SEC's crackdown on the digital asset industry.