This is how SEC boss Gary Gensler defends his attitude to regulate cryptocurrencies in front of the US Senate

This is how SEC boss Gary Gensler defends his attitude to regulate cryptocurrencies in front of the US Senate

This is how Gary Gensler defends his attitude in front of the US Senate

Gary Gensler, the chairman of the US IPO supervisory authority SEC, spoke yesterday in front of an economic committee to discuss the financing of the SEC in the coming financial year. He could not avoid questions about his crypto policy and defended his attitude.

Gensler has always been in the headlines due to its enemy attitude towards cryptocurrencies. Now he has explained to the US Senate why he represents this attitude.

At a conference in the US Parliament, Gensler explained his plans for the 2024 financial year and asked for the financing of new employees. He emphasized that the SEC could finance themselves by fees that are raised in the course of violations of the law.

Chris van Hollen, the chairman of the business committee, also asked Gensler about his political positions towards Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Gensler then explained that the crypto industry has so far behaved like the wild west and was completely lawless.

He stated that private investors in the United States and worldwide have immense damage that could be prevented by adequate regulation. Gensler referred to the securities law and explained that projects in which the public expects profits based on the performance of specific persons fall under this law.

However, Gensler could not give a precise number of how many cryptocurrencies fall under this category. However, he emphasized that there were "many".

Gensler also pointed out that the crypto industry is developing so quickly that legislation cannot keep up. This constantly creates new gaps that can be used by people with negative intentions.

He also criticized that many crypto companies officially perform various functions, which leads to conflicts of interest. He cited the case of the FTX crypto exchange, in which the systems of the customers are kept as an example while acting against these people at the same time.

Gensler emphasized that the SEC is responsible for supervising the crypto industry, since the sister authority CFTC does not have the necessary legal powers. In doing so, he defended his policies to the allegations to abuse his office for his own political ideas.

He also explained that he is convinced of blockchain technology, but has so far hardly been practically usable due to a lack of transparency. He also wants to change this condition.

Finally, Gensler admitted that there are cryptocurrencies that are not subject to the supervision of the SEC. However, he did not give specific examples, but in the past he had mentioned Bitcoin and Ethereum as examples.

When asked why the SEC did nothing against FTX, Gensler replied that he could not make a statement for this specific case. However, he emphasized that the crypto industry generally acts in species and wise that would normally not be accepted by the SEC.