Gary Gensler, President Joe Biden’s choice to head the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), revealed his policies on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies if confirmed as SEC chairman. Gensler is an MIT professor who teaches cryptocurrencies. Previously, he served as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Gary Gensler, SEC nominee, talks about Bitcoin regulation
Professor Gary Gensler talked about what his focus will be on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies if he is confirmed as president of the SEC. His statements were made during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.
Gensler is a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he is also co-director of Fintech @ CSAIL and a senior consultant at the MIT Media Lab Digital Currency Initiative. He teaches blockchain technology, digital currencies, financial technology and public policy. Gensler is also a former partner of Goldman Sachs who served as president of the CFTC during the Obama administration.
At his confirmation hearing, he was asked what Congress and the SEC can do to create a forward-looking regulatory environment for innovators in the cryptographic space.
“As I teach at MIT on these issues, these innovations have been a catalyst for change,” Gensler began, adding:
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have brought a new way of thinking about payments and financial inclusion, but have also raised new investor protection issues that we still need to address.
“So I think that, if confirmed by the SEC, I would work with other commissioners to promote new innovations, but also, in the background, to guarantee investor protection,” he continued.
Gensler clarified: “To the extent that someone is offering an investment contract or bond that is under the responsibility of the SEC, and they have exchanges that operate there, then we have to ensure that there is investor protection.”
On the other hand, “if it is not that, and it is a commodity, as bitcoin has been considered, then it is either an issue for Congress … or it is possibly an issue for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission,” he described.
In addition, the professor also said that the SEC must ensure that the crypto markets “are free from fraud and manipulation” by elaborating:
I think this is the biggest challenge, frankly, because some markets, usually operating abroad, are full of fraud.
What do you think of the SEC’s new president’s policies on bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below.
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