SEC Chair Gary Gensler Still Defends Positive View on Blockchain

Key Points:

• SEC Chair Gary Gensler and members of Congress, including Brad Sherman and Hester Peirce, debated the need for clearer cryptocurrency regulations.
• Commissioner Peirce criticized the SEC’s vague stance on crypto regulation, arguing that relying on law enforcement leads to confusion and inefficiency.

The regulation of cryptocurrencies is something that has been debated today with SEC Chair Gary Gensler and members of Congress such as Rep. Brad Sherman and Commissioner Hester Peirce.

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SEC and Congress Debate Need for Clearer Crypto Regulation

As Fox Business’ Eleanor Terrett reports, Wednesday’s hearing comes at a pivotal moment in the SEC’s role of overseeing digital assets, a topic that has been hotly debated both within the crypto industry and among political circles.

Representative Brad Sherman reminded everyone that the SEC is the agency charged with a mission to protect investors. Though he admitted further legislation on providing clarity on the regulatory status of cryptocurrencies could well be proposed, he seemed to indicate it may be unnecessary:

“This is the premier agency to protect investors, and it has responsibility for virtually every other intangible investment asset. We can provide clarity, although I don’t think it’s necessary,” Sherman said.

Commissioner Hester Peirce criticized the SEC’s approach to date, citing the ambiguous regulatory stance of the agency toward digital currencies. She cited law enforcement in regulating the crypto space to bring inefficiencies and a lack of clarity about the exact role that the SEC plays.

“I think we’ve fallen down on our duty as a regulator not to be precise, and so tucking into a footnote that, yes, we admit that now, actually, the token itself is not a security, that’s something that we should have admitted long ago,” Peirce said.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler Sends Signals of Ambivalence to Blockchain Investments

SEC Chair Gary Gensler has termed the approach of the SEC as “merit neutral”. According to him, blockchain technology does nothing to change the economic substance of an investment. “By putting something on a blockchain ledger, that doesn’t change the economics,” he said, signalling his belief that crypto should still fall under the same regulations as other investment assets.

The House Financial Services Committee hearing is peculiarly important because it will be the first unified testimony by all five SEC commissioners since 2019 under Gensler‘s leadership and will likely take centre stage in setting the future regulatory landscape of cryptocurrencies.

On the other hand, the Senate Banking Committee’s hearing on SEC Chair Gary Gensler scheduled for September 25 will be postponed. According to sources on Capitol Hill, the reason is not known.