Gary Gensler, the outgoing Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), reaffirmed his stance on the need for stricter regulation of the cryptocurrency industry. Speaking during an interview with Bloomberg TV on Wednesday, Gensler described the crypto market as “rife with bad actors” and called for enhanced oversight to protect investors.
Gensler, who has led the SEC since 2021, emphasized the importance of enforcing existing laws and ensuring compliance among crypto firms. His tenure has been marked by vigorous enforcement efforts, including legal actions against major players like Coinbase and Ripple. He is set to step down on January 20, the day President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in.
SEC Enforcement Actions Under Gary Gensler’s Leadership
While at the US SEC, Gary Gensler aimed at dealing with misconduct in cryptocurrencies market which he described as being ‘Emotive’ rather than being based on fundamental analysis. He noted that the agency had pursued around 100 crypto-related enforcement actions during his four years in the post, adding to the 80 actions taken by his predecessor, Jay Clayton.
The SEC’s focus under Gensler has been on companies and other entities that are alleged to have broken securities laws. Some of them were against Coinbase Global Inc. for allegedly helping in trading unregistered securities and lawsuits against Ripple Labs concerning XRP. Some of these cases ended with the SEC winning the court cases while others were controversial and even led to legal battles and backlash from the cryptocurrency community.
‘Everyday investors deserve better disclosures and protections,’ Gensler said in the Bloomberg interview, restating his view that most digital assets are securities. He urged the crypto firms to come clean and report to the SEC and operate within the prevailing legal framework.
Criticism From the Crypto Industry
US SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s approach has elicited a lot of backlash from the cryptocurrency industry. A number of participants noted that this approach of the SEC leads to over-enforcement and deters innovation. They also argue that the current legal frameworks are ineffective in the digital assets space, which puts compliance out of reach for crypto companies.
Coinbase, which has been on the receiving end of the SEC’s actions, obtained a recent legal reprieve when a court permitted it to proceed with an interlocutory appeal in its lawsuit against the agency. Another high-profile company, Ripple Labs, has also faced several legal cases with the SEC with the latter expected to file opening brief related to appeals against Ripple and its executives before deadline
Gensler has come to the defence of the SEC, saying that the agency had no choice but to act in order to protect investors and preserve the market’s integrity. “Out of these 10,000 to 15,000 crypto projects, many will not survive,” he said, comparing the sector to venture capital investments which have a high failure rate.
Transition in Leadership at the US SEC
With US SEC Chair Gary Gensler set to depart, the agency is likely to take on a different direction. Donald Trump is expected to appoint Paul Atkins, a former commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission, as the head of the agency. Atkins is expected to be less hostile towards the industry and may decrease the number of actions against cryptocurrency companies.
During Atkins tenure, the SEC could shift its attention toward promoting innovation and growth while ensuring a proper level of supervision. This move could be a radical change from the Gensler period, who focused on going after firms that it accused of violating the securities laws.
Despite this, Gensler said that he is happy with what has been accomplished at the SEC under his leadership, although he noted that there is still more work to be done to address the rapidly developing digital asset markets.
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