TL;DR Breakdown
- Gary Gensler worried about weak crypto regulation.
- SEC chair says many crypto tokens are unregistered.
- He claims there is a void that needs to be filled with crypto regulation.
The chairman of the American Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, has expressed more worry on cryptocurrencies and their regulation in the country and globally.
Gary Gensler expressed these sentiments at a conference hosted by the Aspen Institute, on Tuesday where he explained the need for stricter and better-enforced investor protections when it comes to cryptocurrencies.
He emphasized that the SEC does not have enough investor protection in crypto and described the digital market space as the Wild West. Gary Gensler said that most crypto coins are just highly speculative stores of value.
Gensler, CFTC chairman during Obama’s tenure, said many crypto tokens may be unregistered without any market oversight.
In the wake of many worries Gensler expressed on crypto, he praised blockchain that it may have a significantly inherent value, noting that most cryptocurrencies don’t fit the conventional three-part definition of “money” as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and a store of value.
Gary Gensler reiterates need for proper exchange regulation
Amidst the continued growth and spike in the value of the crypto space, the SEC still has issues regulating the entire crypto space.
The SEC chairman said a large part of the crypto industry does not work within the legal framework of safeguarding consumers, promoting financial stability, reducing fraud, and maintaining national security.
Gensler said there is a void, and the SEC requires additional Congressional powers to prevent transactions, products, and platforms from falling between regulatory voids. He states that the SEC also requires more resources to safeguard investors in the growing and highly volatile sector.
Previously, the large price surge experienced in the crypto space early in the year caught the attention of lawmakers in the US who were already working on taming the crypto space to get under their control.
Amidst the price surge and worry of legislators on how to tame the crypto space, Gensler stated that it has become essential for the government to regulate the crypto industry, as asserted by the SEC boss.
