Gary Gensler knows fintech and he is widely expected to send a signal that “government regulatory oversight” is needed in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
As a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, he studied how blockchain and cryptocurrency, were dramatically changing finance.
With this background, it makes him extremely qualified to hold his position as SEC Chief. Some crypto investors my even go as far as saying he understands Bitcoin better than most bitcoiners. Nevertheless, after his remarks this week, Gensler is facing some serious criticism.
“If somebody is raising money selling a token and the buyer is anticipating profits based on the efforts of that group to sponsor the seller, that fits into something that’s a security,” said Gensler.
Gensler said the crypto market involves many tokens which may be unregistered securities and leaves prices open to manipulation and millions of investors vulnerable to risks.
He continued, “We just don’t have enough investor protection in crypto. Frankly, at this time, it’s more like the Wild West,” Mr. Gensler said.
These comment are being criticized and raising eyebrows in the crypto community. Leaving members of the crypto community questioning wether he is a friend or foe. Also many crypto enthusiast disagree with the “Wild Wild West” comment.
Gensler is encouraging crypto trading platforms to have a “frank discussion” with the Securities & Exchange Commission. He noted that many have avoided confronting the SEC so far.
Gensler was formerly the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and he said it’s critical both government agencies work together to deal with crypto platforms that trade both securities and commodities.
