Gensler States SEC Won’t Ban Crypto

Full article by Samuel Haig found here.

• Gary Gensler, chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, stated that the SEC does not have the authority or intention to ban cryptocurrencies during a hearing with the House Committee on Financial Services on Tuesday.

• The chairman highlighted that banning crypto does not fall within the SEC’s jurisdiction, stating “that decision would be up to Congress.”

• Gensler focused more on the issues of regulation and compliance, stating that “it’s a matter of how we get this field within the investor consumer protections that we have and also working with bank regulators and others, including how we ensure that the Treasury Department has it within Anti-Money Laundering and tax compliance.”

• In regards to the discussion of digital assets acting as a form of securities, Gensler asserted that “many of these tokens do meet the test of being an investment contract, or a note, or a security” and that there is a need to bring crypto “within the investor protection remit of the SEC.”

• When asked to clarify his views on Bitcoin and Ether being classified as commodities, Gensler responded that “I’m not going to get into any one token, but I think the securities laws are quite clear. If you are raising money, and the investing public have reasonable expectation of profits based on the efforts of others, that fits within the securities law.”