Democratic Senators Urge SEC Chair Gensler Against Crypto ETF Approvals, Cite “Significant” Risks
Democratic Senators Laphonza Butler (D-CA) and Jack Reed (D-RI) are pushing United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler to “strictly limit” the approval of crypto-based ETFs, in a March 11 letter addressed to Gensler.
In the letter, Butler and Reed claim cryptocurrencies pose “significant and unique risks” to the American people.
“The SEC’s approvals have provided a green light for Wall Street to sell volatile cryptocurrency investments to ordinary Americans through their brokerage and retirement accounts,” the letter read.
The democratic senators also cited the January 2024 report from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) showing that an estimated 70% of brokers’ communications to retail investors regarding cryptocurrencies violated fair disclosure rules.
“These alarming deficiencies raise significant concerns that brokers and advisers may now provide incomplete or deceptive information about bitcoin ETPs to retail investors,” Reed and Butler stated.
Reed and Butler’s letter follows the SEC’s January approval of several spot bitcoin ETFs, causing bitcoin’s price to surge. Earlier this week, the token’s price soared over $73,000 to mark an all-time high during its latest rally.
The cryptocurrency’s rally coincides with rising discussions regarding the potential SEC approval of a spot Ethereum ETF, with experts plummeting the estimated chances of approval in May to just 35%.
The blockbuster success of the Bitcoin ETF is upsetting to high ranking Dems. Buyer’s remorse. This is part of why we are pessimistic re spot Eth etf approval chances. https://t.co/SGEAkGQGyD
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) March 14, 2024
“The blockbuster success of the Bitcoin ETF is upsetting to high-ranking
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