Come in and Talk to Us

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman, Gary Gensler, said in an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal that there is no need to treat crypto markets any different from other capital markets just because it is using a different technology.

While inviting the crypto trading and lending platforms for a dialogue, Gensler detailed the importance of complying with SEC rules:

“Recent market events show why it is critical that crypto firms comply with securities laws.

“In recent months, some crypto lending platforms have frozen their investors’ accounts or gone bankrupt. When it comes to bankruptcy, these investors have to get in line at the court.”

Regardless of what the financial product is, an app, lending platform, cryptocurrency exchange, or decentralized finance (defi) platform, the SEC head said that it is the Supreme Court that “determines whether [a product] is a security under the securities laws.”

Nevertheless, “there is a path forward,” Gensler said while noting that “there are costs of complying with securities laws, just as there are costs to car makers of adding seat belts,” as he invited crypto business to “come in and talk to SEC staff.”

The SEC chairman said that for the crypto trading platforms to “comply with the securities laws will [ultimately] benefit investors and the crypto market.”

Nevertheless, he said that the SEC will not back down from doing what it thinks is necessary to protect investors:

“In the meantime, the SEC will serve as the cop on the beat. As with seat belts in cars, we need to ensure that investor protections come standard in the crypto market.”

Two months ago in an interview with Bloomberg, Gensler said that Bitcoin is a ‘commodity’, but that many crypto assets are showing “key attributes of a security.”