The chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Gary Gensler has hit back at Coinbase’s petition compelling the agency to provide a clear stance on crypto regulation, arguing that there are already adequate laws in place.
In a May 15 keynote speech at the Financial Markets Conference, Gensler was asked about the dispute with Coinbase, the rules on crypto and why “the SEC doesn’t publish rules for that market.”
In response, Gensler staunchly asserted that “the rules have already been published,” adding that:
Gensler argued that the SEC has already put out the rules for what is required to custody assets, be an exchange, broker dealer or advisor and how to register securities offerings with the agency.
The SEC chair’s current view is that most crypto assets — apart from Bitcoin (BTC) — fall under the securities definition of an investment contract.
“If the public is investing money and anticipating profit based upon the efforts of others, in a common enterprise, that’s a security,” he said, adding:
Coinbase — and many other U.S. crypto firms — have repeatedly spoken out against an apparent lack of clear crypto regulation and the SEC’s so-called “regulation by enforcement” approach to crypto, along with its hostile nature when dealing with digital asset firms.
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In April, the firm went as far as to file an action in federal court seeking to compel the SEC to publicly disclose its stance on a petition from July 2022 calling for clear rules for the crypto sector.
Notably, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has also echoed this call from
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