SEC chair Gensler holds tight to his crypto position in preview of Senate testimony
United States Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Gary Gensler is scheduled to testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs in a hearing titled “Oversight of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission” on Sept. 15. The transcript of his speech was released in advance.
Gensler called securities laws a “gold standard” of capital markets. In his 13-page comprehensive discussion of those markets, crypto markets took up about a page and a half, including footnotes.
Per a @BankingGOP aide on @GaryGensler Thursday hearing: "Expect @SenToomey and @BankingGOP to argue that Chairman Gensler’s pursuit of a highly politicized liberal policy agenda has distracted him from fulfilling the @SECGov core mission of protecting investors, maintaining
Gensler restated his belief that most cryptocurrencies are securities. Since that is so, he has asked SEC staff to “work directly with entrepreneurs to get their tokens registered and regulated, where appropriate, as securities.” He continued that many intermediaries, such as exchanges, broker-dealers, and those with custodial functions, deal in securities and should be registered with the SEC “in some capacity.” In addition, he said:
Stablecoins, Gensler said, “may be shares of a money market fund or another kind of security,” and therefore also require registration and regulation.
Related: Sen. Lummis: My proposal with Sen. Gillibrand empowers the SEC to protect consumers
Gensler acknowledged the entry of traditional financial firms into the crypto space and said they are interested in entering “in compliance with time-tested investor protection rules,” which existing intermediaries should follow as well to ensure a level playing field. He added that
Read more on cointelegraph.com
